How Many Different Energy Sources is Enough?
It seems only common sense not to “put all our energy eggs in one basket.” What if the one we bet on goes sour? But there’s more to this question than meets the eye. Let’s look into it. First, we don’t have to worry about any one or two energy sources taking over. Even if everything favored one source, it is not possible for any one or two energy sources to take over the market. Each is constrained by its own particular limitations, so we are not going to see any near-future domination of the energy field. Nuclear is the one source in a position to greatly expand its production. Between 1970 and 1990, the U.S. built about 100 new nuclear plants. We could build another hundred in the next 20 years, and there is a bill in the Congress to do just that. That would raise nuclear’s share of the market from 20% to 40%. It would still be outranked by coal at 50% or more. There are many obstacles to doubling nuclear, but there are no technological questions or uncertainties. That has been prove
