Rudy Shankar, director of Lehigh University's Energy Systems Engineering program, shares his thoughts on "why nuclear energy needs to be embraced to play an increasing role in the fight against the climate crisis" in a new episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives podcast.
The episode covers topics—including the challenges of nuclear power generation, the opportunites provided by small modular reactors (SMRs), and the direction of current US energy policy—that Shankar discussed in a recent piece published on Energy Central, a website and community for global power industry professionals.
"We're not meeting the Paris Accord climate goals, and we are kind of falling behind right now," he says in the podcast. "And so we can rely on nuclear energy, which has been used for almost seven decades in the United States. We have good operating experience with nuclear energy. And so I see that as a very strong candidate and also in the developments that are taking place in nuclear energy with small modular reactors and so on."
Shankar has more than 40 years business experience working in the electric power industry, with more than 20 years at Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). He has served as vice president and chief technology advisor for the Tennessee Valley Authority as well as president of a start-up energy company whose clients included the US Department of Energy and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He serves on several boards in the power industry.
Shankar says SMRs offer "standardization and flexibility in utilization" and can bring a lot of value.
"SMRs are miniature fission reactors. So fission reactors can replace coal-based and fossil based fuels. So, generation of electricity, SMRs could replace coal and natural gas. SMRs, because they are modular, they can be transported."
Listen to the full podcast on the Energy Central website [sign-in required].
