A digital rendering of a nuclear power plant.It is encouraging that regulators have approved a new nuclear power plant in Georgia — the first such plant approved in the United States in 34 years. But it is a sad testament to the influence of anti-nuclear activists that it took so long to approve a new nuclear plant in this country.
The reactors will be near Augusta, Ga.
So what caused the delay in expanding nuclear power? After all, it has cost advantages over wind and solar power. And unlike coal, it does not have the emissions that so trouble environmental activists.
Well, there are both valid and illegitimate concerns.
It is reasonable to ask what is to be done with nuclear waste. It must be stored at the plant where it is generated or hauled to a central storage site. In either case, radioactive waste has to be handled with caution.