Should Oregon forbid nuclear power as an energy source?

 

Lars Larson transcript,
NW based national talk show host

I call it one of the great ironies of modern times. The Northwest has created some of the best new nuclear power plants designs on earth. NuScale Power and Dr. Jose Reyes created plants at Oregon State University so safe and efficient, they make current nukes look like a Model T next to a Tesla.

Nuclear power represents the just about the only greenhouse gas-friendly way to make the massive amounts of electricity our modern society needs to operate. Yet, Oregon has a law forbidding construction of any nuclear power plant. And the politics of Western Washington make nuclear nearly impossible.

China, our biggest economic competitor is building nukes to beat the band. For a long time I figured we’d sit here in our country designing nukes to power China, while we freeze to death in the dark, after we shut down coal and gas. Turns out I was happily wrong. NuScale has plans to build a 720 megawatt plant in Idaho, and the permits are moving so fast right now it should be in operation in less than seven years