A proponent of nuclear energy, who says big advances make it safer and more reliable that ever, insists nuclear-powered electricity is the answer for energy production in coming years and decades.
In an appearance on American Family Radio, Chris Brown said the U.S. has more nuclear reactors than any other developed nation, 96 in all, but that progress has stalled. “Currently the United States has zero in production because they are very expensive,” he said. “China has 29 currently in production, and Russia has two.”
France, which has depended on nuclear energy since the 1970s, currently gets two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear power. Its number of reactors, 56, is expected to be overtaken soon by China, which has 55 reactors supplying energy to 1.4 billion people.
Brown, a former state representative in the Mississippi House, is currently a member of the three-person Mississippi Public Service Commission.
The Magnolia State currently has one nuclear reactor, Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, located near Port Gibson. That facility, now over 50 years old, is famous for operating the largest single reactor, which can produce 1,440 megawatts, in the United States. In a related op-ed about nuclear energy, published by The Magnolia Tribune, Brown wrote nuclear energy stores “immense amounts of energy” compared to solar power that is generated only under ideal conditions.
The U.S. “must be honest about what works, and accelerate investment in advanced nuclear energy," he wrote.
Regarding the safety issue, which is predictably a main concern for the public, Brown wrote that modern-day nuclear reactors benefit from better designs, better safety systems, and decades of experience building and operating them.
Even though nuclear energy dates back to the 1950s, Brown told the “Core” program nuclear energy is an “exciting” development because of those technological advances.
With nations competing for energy, he said, “the country that gets it right is going to win the economic development battle, and the quality of life for our citizens, as well.”
