Professors, speakers discuss nuclear power
Published Oct. 26, 2007
A mini-symposium held Wednesday at MU confronted energy issues facing the U.S. and what Missouri's role is in the nation's energy policy.
The symposium, titled Energy Vision for Missouri, brought speakers from the ConocoPhillips Co., the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to MU to confer with university students and faculty.
Nuclear engineering professor William Miller advocated greater use of nuclear energy.
"A number of companies just in the last year have put on the books a potential of some 30 new nuclear power plants in the U.S.," Miller said. "We haven't built any new nuclear plants in our state since the 70s, and now suddenly it appears that nuclear power plants may becoming new energy resources for the future."
Miller said nuclear engineering comes with a cost of only 1.7 cents per kilowatt-hour, enough to power 10 100-watt light bulbs for one hour.
Miller said this is one-third of the cost of electricity from natural gas and slightly less than that of coal.
Miller said he believes nuclear power would improve Missouri's ability to support growing electricity use and alleviate the state's heavy dependency on fossil fuels and other energy imports that total 94 percent of its energy consumption. He said nuclear energy would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Miller also discussed the cost of building a nuclear power plant and public concerns for safety regarding radiation exposure.
"A good talk on nuclear energy is not complete without some concern for the risks of nuclear power plants," Miller said. "I'm not naïve about the concerns."
Miller cited polls that state that although 63 percent of Americans approve of the use of nuclear power, most Americans do not believe they are in the majority.
Physics professor Peter Pfeifer discussed alternate fuel sources such as natural gas and hydrogen.
Pfeifer used Argentina as an example of a country that has successfully adopted an alternative fuel instead of gasoline.
He said between 20 and 50 percent of passenger vehicles run on natural gas.
"It costs about an eighth of what gasoline costs for them in their country," he said. "For them it's a price in terms of comfort and convenience that they are well willing to pay, and the same thing is true in many other countries. Of course here, we have different standards and expectations."
Pfeifer said natural gas-powered cars haven't caught on the U.S. because too much of the trunk space is taken up by the natural gas tanks.
Pfeifer said he and a team of 50 others are working on a flatter, lightweight tank filled with spongy briquettes that would absorb the natural gas and eliminate the need for tanks that can hold compressed natural gas.
The new tank has been undergoing road tests in Kansas City since January 2007, Pfeifer said.
The symposium was sponsored by the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
