Kyle Wingfield: America needs a sensible regulatory environment

Kyle Wingfield

Columnist

Americans are now accustomed to seeing a reality that undermines the rhetoric and virtue signaling that passes for governance in Washington. It is less often observed practically in real time. Such a spectacle took place at the end of last month. I’m not sure how many people have noticed this, but it has particular significance for those of us who live in Georgia.

On April 25, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced new regulations that could essentially ban coal-fired power plants within 15 years. If you think this statement is hyperbole, know that it is made by both supporters and opponents of the new regulations. Natural gas-fired power plants will also face daunting new requirements, and building new ones would be virtually impossible.

The scope of these radical changes, wrought not by Congress but by unelected bureaucrats, is astonishing. But let’s stay for a moment on the issues of time and reality. Just four days after the EPA unveiled these new regulations, Nuclear Unit 4 at the Vogtle Power Plant in Georgia entered commercial operation. This was a huge, important milestone for the citizens and businesses of our state and a testament to the commitment of Vogtle’s owners to innovation: Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities.

In the context of carbon dioxide emissions, which were the basis for the new EPA regulations, Vogtle Unit 4 will help Georgia continue to beat national averages in carbon dioxide emissions per dollar generated. These are all great things. Here’s the bad news: This milestone comes more than 17 years after Vogtle’s owners submitted preliminary permits for units 4 and 3, which began commercial operations last August. Delays and cost overruns were the result of many factors, including the bankruptcy of the original contractor on the project. But federal over-regulation has also played a huge role, and that still needs to be fixed. This is the reality that policymakers must grapple with. There is simply no competition for nuclear power when it comes to reliable, greenhouse gas-free power. Nothing. However, Vogtle units 3 and 4 are the first completely new nuclear reactors to come online in the country in over thirty years. The danger is that we will have to wait similarly long for subsequent new reactors.

This would be devastating given the new EPA rules. According to the federal government, natural gas accounted for more than 43% of total U.S. electricity generation last year, and coal accounted for another 16%. Nuclear energy accounted for almost 19%, and all renewable sources combined for about 21%.

At first glance, these numbers might make a renewable energy future seem real. This is certainly the goal of the new EPA regulations.

However, it’s important to remember that inefficiency means you’ll need to build about three times as much renewable energy generation capacity as the fossil fuel capacity you’re replacing. And even that doesn’t tell the whole story.

The lower reliability of renewable sources – photovoltaic panels only work when the sun is shining, and windmills only when the wind is blowing – means that they are unable to bear the load on their own. So many aspects of our personal and economic lives depend on having the power on all the time we need it. This is a very serious problem if we move too quickly away from reliable energy sources, like those who live in places affected by blackouts and scheduled power outages.

At some point in the future, battery storage may alleviate these reliability concerns. But what is the point of creating ground rules and, consequently, making multi-billion dollar investment decisions on technology that may or may not advance.

Nuclear energy addresses the issue of reliability because reactors can operate 24/7/365. For those who think that’s all that matters, it’s also carbon-free. We need many more nuclear reactors to keep up with growing demand. We need dozens more if we want to replace one-sixth of the electricity currently generated in the U.S. with coal alone.

Until we have a more reasonable regulatory environment, Americans will not be able to benefit from this important energy source.

Kyle Wingfield is president and CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.