Nearly Nuclear

A Mismanaged Energy Transition

LeRoy Smith

• Publisher: Michigan State University Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781611863987
• eBook ISBN:
  9781628954401
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Energy Industry
• Index: History

When Consumers Power's plan to build a nuclear power plant in Midland, Michigan, was announced in 1967, it promised to free Michigan residents from expensive, dirty, coal-fired electricity and to keep Dow Chemical operating in the state. But before the plan could be completed, the facility was called an engineering nightmare, a financial disaster, a construction boondoggle, a political headache, and a regulatory muddle. Most locals had welcomed nuclear power eagerly. Why, after almost twenty years and billions of dollars, did this promise of a high-tech, coal-free, prosperous future fail? And what lessons does its failure offer today as Americans try to develop a clean energy  economy based on renewable power? To answer these questions, energy consultant and author LeRoy Smith carefully traces the design and construction decisions made by Consumers Power, including its choice of reactor and its hiring of the Bechtel Corporation to manage the project. He also details the rapidly changing regulatory requirements and growing public concern about the environmental risks of nuclear power generation. An examination of both the challenges and importance of renewable energy, this book will be of value to anyone interested in grappling with the complexities of our ongoing efforts to eliminate fossil fuels in favor of clean renewable energy.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1. Location, Location, Location: Geology Is Destiny
• Chapter 2. Imagine This: A Whole Town Rallies in Support of a Nuclear Power Plant
• Chapter 3. Regulators: Safety Rules and the Spanish Inquisition
• Chapter 4. To Build a Nuclear Power Plant: Admiral Rickover’s Way
• Chapter 5. A Utility and a Chemical Company: Can This Marriage Endure?
• Chapter 6. Consumers Power: Challenges of Managing New Notions
• Chapter 7. Let Bechtel Do It: Just Make It a Megaproject
• Chapter 8. 1968: Forces Not under Your Control Matter
• Chapter 9. Mary Sinclair: No Typical 1960s Woman
• Chapter 10. How to React to Midland Plant Critics: Shame, Organize, Label
• Chapter 11. Midland Pride: Why Midlanders Supported the Midland Nuclear Plant
• Chapter 12. Myron Cherry: Bright, Dedicated, and Mean
• Chapter 13. Construction Quality Control: An Unredeemed Promise of Reformation
• Chapter 14. 1975: Carry on with the Midland Plant
• Chapter 15. Midland Plant: Opportunities (and Frustrations) for All
• Chapter 16. 1978: Not Only Optimism Sinks and Cracks
• Chapter 17. TMI2: Definitely Not Too Much Information
• Chapter 18. People Power: Four Thousand March
• Chapter 19. The 1980s: Problems Intensify As the Money Drains
• Chapter 20. Quality Control Problems: Déjà Vu
• Chapter 21. Brink of Bankruptcy: No Sales Contract, No Cost Recovery, and No Money
• Chapter 22. 1985: What Happened Next?
• Chapter 23. Consumers Power to Consumers Energy: From Nuclear to Natural Gas and Beyond
• Epilogue
• Appendix 1. Radioactive Waste Concerns
• Appendix 2. Nuclear Reactor Types
• Appendix 3. Simplified Diagram of the Midland Plant
• Appendix 4. Fix for Cracking in the Walls of the Auxiliary Building
• Appendix 5. Conversion of the Midland Plant to a Natural Gas Plant
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• Index