Unresolved Waste Disposal Issue Discourages New Nuclear Projects

A newly-convened independent federal advisory panel told lawmakers that uncertainty over nuclear waste disposal was a “major impediment” to new nuclear development even as the administration has said a nuclear renaissance will be key to meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets.

The blue-ribbon panel, which met for the first time in late March, was instructed by Energy Secretary Steven Chu not to recommend that Yucca Mountain be used as a waste repository. Instead they were told to make generic recommendations, reported Dow Jones.

Earlier this year, the Department of Energy petitioned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw its application to dispose of waste at the controversial Nevada site—a move many regard as illegal. The move was challenged by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and was met with disapproval by many lawmakers. Secretary Chu has come under fire for the decision at hearings.

The controversy and absence of viable new policy caused a former FERC commissioner and senior DOE official, Vicky Bailey, to say that addressing the waste issue was critical to “[growing] domestic vendors who will construct nuclear plants.”

John Rowe, panel member and chief executive officer of Exelon Corp., said something decisive must be done to preserve “public credibility.”

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