CEO sees link between electric cars and re-emergence of nuclear energy

PLAINSBORO -- There is a logical connection between the advent of electric cars and the re-emergence of nuclear energy as a national power source -- at least in David Crane's mind.
Crane, CEO of Princeton-based NRG Energy, Inc., sees the market for electric cars as a tipping point for the nuclear power industry as the cleanest, greenest source of electricity for the future, he told members of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce at their monthly luncheon yesterday.

"The advent of electric cars is going to cause a huge, disruptive technology change, one that will throw off all sorts of business opportunities locally and elsewhere," Crane told an audience of nearly 170 professionals.
"There is a symbiotic connection between this vehicle and nuclear power plants. There would be a nuclear renaissance. We would like to see that," said Crane.
While there is relatively little activity in the commercial electric car market right now, Crane estimates there will be 10 wholly electric cars on the market by the end of 2011. He does not see electric cars supplanting gas-powered cars completely, but they will be a force as second vehicles for families, he said. Since more than 60 million Americans have more than one car, there is a huge potential market for them.
When it blossoms, NRG will be waiting.
Simply put, the peak demand for electricity currently occurs through the use of air conditioning during the day, said Crane. Even then, most power grids operate at just 42 percent of capacity. At night, that rate dips lower still.
Electric cars would result in a greater demand for power at night, when cars would theoretically be plugged in for regeneration after use, Crane said. Electric cars would consequently "flatten out" the demand for electricity across a 24-hour cycle. And nuclear power plants could meet that demand -- with "zero-carbon emissions," Crane said.
"You want to turn nuclear power plants on and keep them running at full load all of the time," something that doesn't work quite as seamlessly with the nation's current electric-supply grid, he said.
NRG Energy, a Fortune 500 company, owns and operates one of the country's largest power generation portfolios, including natural gas, coal, thermal, solar and offshore wind assets that in total supply some 24,000 megawatts of electrical power -- enough to power 20 million homes.
The company, which was founded in Minnesota in 1989, moved to its base off Route 1 in 2003. Its business predominantly serves North America but it has capacity in both Europe and Australia as well.
NRG is one of the leading finalists for a $7 billion governmental loan to build a new, zero-emission nuclear power source. More at:
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