Nuclear Power Remains a Good Energy Option

Though many Americans are probably doubtful when it comes to nuclear power after what happened in Japan, there are still many benefits of nuclear that simply cannot be ignored. When stacked against coal burning plants or new “green” options like wind and solar, nuclear power plants are hard to beat.

If we shut down nuclear power plants, they would have to be replaced by fossil fuel plants that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide. This is already taking place in Germany, where seven nuclear plants have already been shut down for “evaluation” after the events in Japan. As a result, coal will fill the gap until the nuclear plants are put back on line.

Hopefully, the United States will not be scared into following in Germany’s footsteps. Turning away from nuclear power would be a shame, because doing so would only result in a higher use of fossil fuels as a means of electricity production. Options like wind and solar power simply cannot replace nuclear due to their inefficiency and huge land requirements. For example, one nuclear reactor generates as much power as many acres of wind turbines, and does so efficiently, not depending on if the wind is blowing.

What many forget is that the nuclear plants in Japan survived the huge 9.0 magnitude earthquake, one stronger than they were designed for, without many ill effects. The problem was caused by the fact that the tsunami took out the electrical grid, causing the pumps for the cooling system to lose power. Because the water wasn’t being circulated, it quickly overheated and boiled off. Also remember that the Fukushima reactors were built in the late 1960s and are thus more than 40 years old. Like everything else, reactor design has improved since then, especially when it comes to safety.

All energy sources have their drawbacks, and nuclear power is no exception. However, when compared to other types of power plants, nuclear plants have a lot of good attributes. For example, plants that burn coal and other fossil fuels are big polluters when compared to nuclear, and alternative energy options like wind and solar simply aren’t efficient enough to rely on, and take up much more space.

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Japan Nuclear Meltdown

With the 8.9 earthquake in Japan and the now new information that Japan has seen a 1000 times increase in the amount of leaked radiation in the facility we are beginning to wonder if nuclear is worth the trade off in safety to our lives compared to better lifestyle.

Now that radiation levels are at 1000 times normal level Japan is faced with what to do next. Once the carnage is fixed and people go back to their normal lives will nuclear power still be a good resource for creating cheap power? There is the potential that imports from the US for natural gas and other fuels may take the place of dangerous power generation such as nuclear. Also you must consider that China is a large exporter of Liquid Petroleum and Japan may decide to rely on this fuel source more to create electricity as well.

The radius for people to leave the infected area is a 3 mile radius span and requires for people to completely leave the area and leave everything behind. We hope that this is not another Chernobyl but it very well could be. If the Japan radiation leak results in another Chernobyl people need to rethink nuclear because this is the result of a very massive earth quake attributed as an act of God and not necessarily something man could prevent. Man can only make something resistant to a certain level and after that there is no way to insure against catastrophes of this magnitude.

Unfortunately global warming caused by man is a more popular topic then things we can prevent right now like the dangers posed by nuclear power plants. It is likely that people will even blame man made climate change on the earthquake in Japan even though this is not a scientific discovery even by climate scientists that believe in man made global warming. Even with the political nature of this type of discussion we hope that Japan will be able to clean up the mess, no one gets hurt, and more preventive steps are used to keep catastrophes like this from happening again.

In conclusion we hope Japan is able to seal the radiation leak at No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant but if they cannot it will be one of the worst disasters ever recorded in human history beyond the flood. Right now all they can do is keep the power plant cooled and find that leak.

Alexa writes about the Japan Nuclear Meltdown and hopes that Japan finds a way to stop the radiation leak. She also requests that new ways of creating cheap electricity are found in the country of Japan besides nuclear which can cause nuclear radiation disasters even worse than an earthquake.

Pennsylvania Electric Choice Tips for Going into the Shopping Process

An artificial rate cap imposed on electric suppliers in PA has allowed electric rates to remain low even when fuel commodity costs have gone up. As in 2008 when natural gas and oil spiked in price PA electricity customers felt no ill effect as did deregulated states like Texas. The argument could be made that the price protection PA received during the energy commodity spike of 2008 is a reason to keep PA regulated. The problem with this argument is that because prices were artificially low they had to be subsidized by tax dollars. So in reality tax payers sill paid for these price spikes as the PA budget was depleted and now like others states is facing a deficit. Free market electric competition allows the private sector to take care of the lowering of electricity prices while the state government can deal with things they were created for such as roadways, police, and fire departments.

When energy prices spiked in 2008 some residential electric choice customers had to sign up at 30 cents per kilowatt hour on the high end. Fortunately the price spike was short term but this was the bad aspect of electric deregulation as there was no price ceiling as would be the case with a rate cap. The customer took on the brunt of the risk when a price spike hit the market. The way to avoid such bad situations in a deregulated electric market is to encourage customers to lock in to a fixed electric rate. By committing to 12 months, 24 months and longer at a cheap price when prices they do not effect the fixed contract that customer may have signed a year beforehand. That electric customers price is protected.

Rate caps expired in 2010 in PA which caused the old line monopoly electric utilities like PECO Energy to raise the price of their electricity service. Now that the tax payers are not subsidizing cheap electric prices it us up to competitive energy providers to keep rates low. A common debate is whether a competitive deregulated electric utility market can keep prices low. The market in PA has been deregulated for a year now as far as release on rate caps go and data shows a significant drop in electric prices.

Fortunately in PA energy consumers have not yet been told when and how they have to use electricity and what days they can take showers. Dictators tell people these types of things and in a regulated environment that makes sense but PA is now a deregulated electric choice market and people have jumped at the opportunity to use their choice to find options that best fits their situation. There are now over 15 PA electric suppliers offering fixed and variable rate plans at all different terms like the 12 month fixed all the way out to 48 months fixed rate offers. People feel free to choose and have seen their prices come down without the need for government intervention.

A fixed rate offer will always save someone more money in the long run than a variable price simply because most people cannot stick with a variable price when prices take a swing up. Just like when in the stock market people buy high and sell low so is the case with electricity prices. A fixed price is for the risk averse and gives price assurance and an overall lower PA electric rate than those who choose a variable electric rate. Before saying PA deregulation doesn’t work consider that fixed rates offer a better deal to customers than what is offered in a regulated market.

With a variable electric rate people choose to pay more to avoid a large deposit, commitment, and early termination fees. The trade off in a higher price over some of these negatives is why people may choose to pay more than everyone else. Some people are tricked into choosing a variable price and this is where the issue of higher prices in deregulated markets like PA and TX becomes a concern.

Some electricity suppliers in PA and TX have made their variable rate look like the cheapest of all offers and label it as “competitive”. In reality the rate if not a fixed price and is not competitive at all because the price may only be good the first few days, week, or month. The lure of a cheap looking variable price has suckered many a PA electricity customer with an electric company they otherwise would have never given their business to.

When choosing a PA electric supplier be sure to compare fixed rate offers and have knowledge and awareness that variable offers are like teaser prices. Deregulation works in the PA electricity market provided that you go into the electric choice decision making process looking to save on your fixed electric rate and not because you want to avoid a commitment, want no deposit, or are easily persuaded by teaser rate glossy advertisements.

This article goes into detail about Pennsylvania Electric Deregulation and if more information is needed about US deregulated electric markets more energy news can be found here: Electricity Articles

Newly Proposed Fees for Electric Car Owners

Obviously, one of the top reasons for purchasing and driving an electric car is to save money on gasoline. However, some have pointed out that because drivers of electric vehicles do not purchase gasoline, they also avoid the gasoline tax that goes toward covering the state’s road construction and maintenance.

In Oregon, the state’s Road User Fee Task Force recommended a piece of tax legislation to force electric car owners to pay the road maintenance and construction taxes. Just recently, House Bill 2328 was put before the Oregon Legislature. This bill suggests that electric car owners pay a vehicle usage charge, starting with both fully electric and gas-electric hybrids in the model year 2014.

Even though just mentioning this idea is enough to make electric car owners and supporters upset, many find House Bill 2328 to be a fairly reasonable proposition. Taking a look into the bill, the so called “vehicle usage charges” are not at all outrageous and still leave room for savings over driving a gasoline powered vehicle by far. With only a 0.6 cent per mile tax, you could go ten thousand miles for just a bit over $50 in fees.

Still, one part of this concept that still needs major development is how mileage will be tracked. While the idea of using GPS technology to track drivers’ mileage has been kicked around, most Americans are opposed to this idea, and understandably so. Though mileage could be checked yearly by the state instead of remotely through GPS, the question that then arises is what to do about miles not driven in the state of Oregon. If the state simply left it to drivers to record the miles they drove outside of the state, giving false mileage information to avoid the taxes would be too easy.

Though House Bill 2328 may not be the answer to taxing electric vehicles, it is definite proof that the popularity of electric vehicles is gaining momentum and provisions must be taken to adapt to a growing amount of electric and gas-electric hybrids. It will be interesting to see what legislative action lies in the future for electric car owners.

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