Why Uranium and Nuclear Power are Very Viable and Safe Options
Scott Melbye is a 36-year veteran of the nuclear energy industry having held leadership positions in major uranium mining companies as well as industry-wide organizations. He serves as Executive Vice President of Uranium Energy Corp., a U.S. uranium mining and exploration company, and Chief Executive Officer of Uranium Royalty Corp., the first and only pure-play uranium royalty and streaming company in the uranium industry.
Mr. Melbye was formerly the Chair of the Board of Governors of the World Nuclear Fuel Market and is currently President of the Uranium Producers of America. He is a graduate of Arizona State University and serves as an Advisor to the Colorado School of Mines, Nuclear Engineering Program.
In this episode, we’re discussing…
[2:27] How he’s been very fortunate to spend his entire career in uranium and nuclear energy
[4:11] Why the uranium and his company are so important in the energy industry concept
[5:40] How nuclear power and uranium contributes to producing clean energy and it’s a perfect component to renewables
[8:20] Why people are so politicians and have an adverse thought of nuclear power, or can’t get around that word
[12:13] About the carbon footprint and how nuclear waste can actually make it into something and reuse it
[13:58] What exactly is uranium and what part has to do with nuclear fuel
[15:36] Other uranium types of markets and where nuclear energy can be used
[21:41] How the better use for nuclear power in transportation is through the generation of electricity that goes to electric vehicles
[26:17] Nuclear power as part of the solution of a greener and cleaner energy due to the consumer preferences and public’s demand
[33:05] How can be used nuclear power for emergency situations
Scott’s Top Tip’s
“It's interesting to your audiences, as tech professionals, that some of the strongest opinion leaders and just leaders in nuclear energy today come from the tech industry, Bill Gates, Peter Thiel, looks they realize how much electricity means to our economy today, with the increased computerization of everything electrification of our global economy, and certainly with transportation, Elon Musk, I think, is bang on when he says, our electricity demand will increase by at least 50%”
“If you measure fatalities by any energy source, we have available today, nuclear is the safest of all energy sources. based on how much a massive amount of electricity that produces over time, its safety record is comparable to is lower, but it's comparable to wind and solar. In terms of its carbon emissions, it's the lowest total system, carbon emissions, and it's the only low carbon energy source that produces 24/7 power. Waste is often raised as a major issue, I mean, nuclear energy has actually been the most responsible in dealing with its waste”
“In the United States and elsewhere, uranium is fairly relatively cheap. So, we kind of go through that once cycle where I think the solution is to store the spent fuel in a retrievable fashion, we're taking back 100 years from now, we're going to need every energy source that's available to us. And if there's still 80% of the fuel left in the spent fuel, and we can process that into new fuel, why would we do it and, is being done elsewhere in the world? Like in France today?”
“Uranium is one of the most commonly found elements in the earth, which surprises people it's in sandstone deposits. It's in hard rock deposits. In order to be a commercially viable deposit that turns into a mind, you've got to find that uranium is in concentrated levels that justify the cost of mining and processing. But it is a metal, it's an energy metal”
“So, it really is a growth story. And you know, where I come in, in the uranium side of the business is, we've under-invested in the uranium mining and development around the world for the last 8 to 10 years. And so, investments in being able to supply uranium to meet this increasing demand for nuclear energy is where my two companies are really positioned”
“The way we use and generate electricity is determined by three things, public policy, consumer preference, and then the technological aspects. And a lot of what's been happening lately has been driven by public policy and consumer preference, but the rubber hits the road when it comes to technology, how much energy we're actually going to need. And the way you generate that, we can't just wave a magic wand and get all the carbon-free power that we want and need”
“California wants to go to the sale of all-electric vehicles by 2030 or 35. Yet today cannot reliably supply electricity to homes and businesses in 2021. So, we really got to deal with this. And this is why folks like Bill Gates and Peter Thiel are all over this because they've done the math, they've done the science if we really want to be serious about carbon reduction or cleaner energy you don't have to be a climate change, warrior to love nuclear power”
“I think with greener energy, cleaner energy, the public's demanding it, no matter who's in the White House, now, you have to do it wisely and smartly. And, and there may be parts of the world or even parts of United States where you're going to need a component of coal because we're I live in Colorado, we're 50, 60% coal, you do without that we're going to have reliability issues and cost issues, to deliver electricity. But doesn't mean we shouldn't be transitioning to cleaner energy”
“Only need coal to make steel. And that's pretty boilerplate ways to do carbon sequestration and advances in sequestering the carbon emissions from coal. America's blessed with many energy alternatives, we should be using the best use of everything we've got at our disposal”
“Much decentralization and nuclear is probably not the best efficient use. I mean, frankly, solar is a better-decentralized form for placing something on your home or your roof. But I do see nuclear, whether it's the 1600-megawatt units that are powering major cities and economies or the small modular reactors that are backing up renewables and part of the mix. We can produce it abundantly. And that drives, our economy, why shouldn't we use more of it, and I think that's where we've got to continue to innovate and make advances in oil energy technologies to really deliver that that promise”
