By Rick Perry

The oral arguments before the Supreme Court earlier this month is a reminder that our nation has a 66-year-old nuclear energy problem – and there is a ready and available solution in recycling used nuclear fuel. 

The Problem

Nuclear energy produces nearly 20% of our electricity. The fuel used to run our reactor fleet loses its intensity over time. That used, but not yet depleted, fuel is called Used Nuclear Fuel (“UNF”). There are 90,000 metric tons of UNF currently stored at reactor sites across 39 states in America, including approximately 4,000 metric tons in my home State of Texas.

In 1982, the federal government was made responsible by an act of Congress for removal and disposal of UNF from reactor sites, and has collected over $20 billion from reactor owners to pay for disposal of UNF. To date, the government has not removed any significant quantity of UNF from any site anywhere in America, including Texas, nor is there a current plan to do so.

As Secretary of Energy under President Trump’s first term, it became clear that any plan to move tonnage of UNF required some practical consent of the receiving state and local community, even if legal consent was not required by the 1982 Act.  

The consequence of not solving this problem results in a financial loss to America and leaves the UNF at the numerous reactor sites across America. There have been private efforts to establish UNF interim storage facilities in West Texas and New Mexico. Though there has been some local acceptance of an interim storage facility in Texas or New Mexico, there has also been significant opposition. Resistance to those private interim storage proposals led to the NRC v. Texas case currently before the Supreme Court.

The Solution

We should rethink our approach. There are options we should consider other than storage of UNF, either temporarily on an interim basis or permanently. Our country should explore taking an entirely different path to achieve our ultimate goal:  the removal of UNF from reactor sites. Recycling UNF makes much more sense than permanent storage and creates an energy source that is needed and currently unused.

The technology for recycling was first developed in the United States and has been used in France, Japan, Russia, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, China, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. I have personally toured many of these reprocessing facilities in other countries during my term as Energy Secretary.

The United States should establish a recycling policy so that the 90,000 metric tons of UNF in the country can be recycled and fabricated into mixed oxide fuel (“MOX fuel”). The resulting MOX fuel can be used in nuclear reactors to create reliable and clean energy.

Through establishing a recycling policy, the following four problems would be solved, and create economic opportunities:

First, the United States can solve the national problem of moving UNF away from reactor sites as it is obligated to do. Second, the U.S. can restart the discontinued payment program of the nuclear utilities for the removal of the UNF so that the Treasury can be replenished at the rate of $2 billion annually. Third, the concern of interim or long-term storage of UNF near our population centers is also addressed. Finally, MOX fuel can replace the 20% of U.S. nuclear fuel currently purchased from Russia. 

The adoption of such a policy will create jobs and much needed energy for the grid as demand for energy skyrockets. Today, MOX fuel is widely used in Europe and Japan in their nuclear reactor fleet. America is behind its industrial neighbors in the treatment of UNF and needs to catch up.

Sometimes the greatest problems have simple and already discovered solutions.

Rick Perry is the former governor of Texas and 14th secretary of energy.

This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.

By Robert Bradley Jr.

“Little doubt that civil disobedience makes the perpetrator feel virtuous. But the anti-CO2, anti-industrialization movement is at war with society, reality, and itself. This fringe is urged to question a false cause with study and reflection … Real environmentalism please!”

The Guardian reported yesterday:

Just Stop Oil to ‘hang up the hi-vis’ after three years of climate action …. Final gathering in April will mark end of street protests although campaign to continue ‘in courts and prisons’ ….

Dozens of protesters have been jailed. Last summer, five supporters of Just Stop Oil were given multi-year sentences for planning road-block protests on the M25. Even after their terms were reduced on appeal this month, they remain the longest ever handed down for non-violent civil disobedience.

Meanwhile, new groups have emerged that have eschewed the previous commitments of some climate activists to be accountable for their actions, instead acting clandestinely to target organisations they regard as responsible for contributing to climate breakdown.

The major course correction was due to ineffectiveness, idiocy, and jail time. But not to the guilty. Climate activist Verel Rodrigues [1] reported yesterday on social media:

After three years of disruption, defiance and deep courage, Just Stop Oil are ending their protests. And honestly… it feels kinda emotional.

Just Stop Oil didn’t just shake things up – they changed the political conversation in the UK and around the world. What began in 2022 with bold, disruptive action, slow marches, and orange paint quickly became one of the most recognisable and influential climate campaigns in modern history….

Of course, it hasn’t been easy. The repression has been brutal. Laws were weaponised. Protesters jailed for years. But JSO held the line. And that defiance – that courage – shifted the Overton window. Three years ago, talking about a full stop to new fossil fuel projects was fringe. Now it’s policy.

And the UK economy is in decline and the commoners are burdened with high energy bills–for no effect on global climate (the country is responsible for 1 percent of global CO2 emissions)…..

Continuing:

…. yes, Just Stop Oil hanging up the hi-vis feels emotional. But it also feels like a baton being passed. As they’ve said: the campaign doesn’t die – it evolves. Into the courts, into the prisons, and maybe even into something new, bolder, and even more global. Disruption works. Resistance matters. And movements can win

Or lose. Just Stop Oil would not stop if it was winning. Just the opposite.

Little doubt that civil disobedience makes the perpetrator feel virtuous. But the anti-CO2, anti-industrialization movement is at war with society, reality, and itself. This fringe is urged to question a false cause with study and reflection and turn their ire (without violating property rights or inconveniencing the general public) to wind and solar industrialization on land and in the waters. Real environmentalism please!

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[1] He describes himself as follows:

I’m Verel – a climate activist, environmental campaigner, and engineer driven by a simple truth: we cannot solve the climate crisis with business as usual. My mission is to challenge the status quo, inspire action, and empower individuals to leverage their skills and knowledge in the fight for a livable planet….

Since joining the climate movement in 2019, I’ve worked with groups like Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, spearheading local initiatives, crafting high-impact campaigns, and refining media strategies to amplify the urgency of climate action….