On this podcast, Paul interviews Philip Ord, President of Americans for Nuclear Energy. The group advocates and educates on behalf of nuclear power in the United States. New Mexico is a “nuclear” state as the home of the A-bomb and two national nuclear labs. Storage is also part of New Mexico’s nuclear story.
Mostly Paul and Phil discuss nuclear’s potential for energy production and why it is better than either coal or so-called “renewables.” Phil believes that climate change is a clear and present danger to humanity but he’s also a supporter of free markets. The two of them discuss what policies need to be in place in order to bring about a nuclear renaissance. Finally, we talk about France and how it became such a pro-nuclear nation in the area of electricity generation.
ANE needs to get involved or supportive of the HI-STORE CISF (consolidated interim storage facility) proposed for a site in New Mexico. I was not impress with Philip knowledge on this topic.
This CISF site could eventually become a nuclear fuel depot for the future advanced nuclear reactor technology utilizing liquid fuel.
New Mexico can also expand this CISF facility with the actual ‘solid to liquid conversion’ of the stored nuclear fuel rods right next door to eliminate transport to another storage location.
Molten Chloride Salt Fast Reactor, was mentioned in concept and is the solution to the stored nuclear fuel concerns. The reactors can be modular for small requirements and combined to handle the large industrial needs for the national power grid.
Phil has the same problem I have explaining nuclear because he knows everything but it takes a lot of effort to express it succinctly.
These guys have the ‘right solution’.
Good interview. Nuclear is certainly part of the overall solution for energy in the US and in the world. As a developed country, the US doesn’t really need a lot of “new” electrical capacity. Instead, we need to modernize our fleet with safe, reliable nuclear plants. Small Modular Reactors (SMR) are a very good option for the US, as they can easily replace older coal and NG plants as they are retired, especially in the west.