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Nuclear Necessity

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By RUSSELL RAY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 16, 2007

Nuclear power, an industry once headed toward certain extinction, is back in play.

With 33 new reactors proposed by the industry and a large percentage of the work force near retirement, a new generation of workers will be needed to build and run America's nuclear power plants. University programs are growing, salaries for new recruits are rising and some companies, desperate for job candidates, are offering signing bonuses.

"It is an excellent opportunity for young people to have a job and career that will not be offshored," said Carol Berrigan, director of industry infrastructure for the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Filling the void, though, won't be easy.

After the partial meltdown at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island in 1979, utilities stopped building new reactors and more than half of the nation's nuclear engineering programs were closed as students stopped majoring in nuclear sciences. The future of nuclear power turned bleak amid growing opposition to nuclear plants.

The number of qualified workers plunged. Most assumed the existing nuclear plants would be shut down once their 40-year licenses expired.

But major shifts in pricing, policy and technology have spawned a nuclear renaissance.

Today, most of the nation's 103 nuclear reactors are extending their licenses, and nearly 20 companies have said they may build a new nuclear facility. Three of those companies have filed applications to build and operate new reactors in Texas, Alabama and Virginia.

Industry officials attribute the turnaround to several factors:

The skyrocketing cost of natural gas, which is used to generate a third of Florida's electricity.

Increasing concern about global warming and greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Better technology and improved nuclear plant designs that limit mechanical and human error.

The nation's growing appetite for electricity. In Florida alone, demand for electricity is projected to grow 76 percent by 2030, nearly twice as fast as U.S. demand.

Progress Energy of St. Petersburg is extending its license to operate the nuclear plant near Crystal River. In addition, the company wants to build two new reactors in nearby Levy County.

Florida Power & Light Co. also expects to build a new reactor at its Turkey Point nuclear plant in Miami-Dade County.

But the expansion of nuclear power is occurring at a time when many of the industry's workers are about to retire.

Up to 35 percent of the 58,000 workers in the nuclear power industry may be eligible to retire in five years, the Nuclear Energy Institute estimates.

Because of the generation gap in nuclear training, electric utilities, government agencies and vendors such as Westinghouse and General Electric are desperately seeking nuclear engineers and other qualified professionals.

But the nation's universities aren't graduating nearly enough people to meet demand, said Alireza Haghighat, chairman of the University of Florida's Nuclear and Radiological Engineering program.

"They are actually rehiring retired people because there is no other way," Haghighat said. "It's very common."

Too Few Grads To Fill Needs

About 400 of the 2,000 undergraduate students enrolled in U.S. nuclear engineering programs will graduate next year, Haghighat said. Most of those students, however, will enter graduate school. The rest will enter the work force, but only a handful will take a job in the nuclear power industry.

Haghighat said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission alone wants to hire 400 engineers.

"They want 80 percent to be nuclear engineers," he said. "We don't generate those kinds of numbers."

As a result, companies have boosted starting salaries and universities have beefed up their recruiting efforts. Haghighat said his students have no problem finding a job. In many cases, the job offers come well before graduation.

"They literally don't have to look for a job," he said.

Salaries Lure More Students

The average annual salary for a nuclear engineer is $92,040, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The starting salary for college graduates can surpass $60,000 a year, Haghighat said.

Some companies offer new graduates signing bonuses that exceed $10,000, he said.

Enrollment in U.S. nuclear engineering programs has grown from 500 in 1998 to more than 1,800 in 2006, according to the Department of Energy.

At the University of Florida, 202 students are enrolled in the school's Nuclear and Radiological Engineering program, up from 74 in 2001, Haghighat said.

"The word 'nuclear' is no longer a bad word," he said. "We've been producing safe and clean energy for 30 years."

By The Numbers

$92,040 — Average salary for a nuclear engineer

33 — New nuclear reactors proposed by the industry

20,000 — Workers in the nuclear power industry who may be eligible to retire in five years

$3 billion — Incentives approved by Congress in 2005 for the construction of nuclear power plants

Sources: Department of Labor; Nuclear Energy Institute

Top 10 Graduate Programs For Nuclear Engineering

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2. University of Illinois

3. University of Michigan

4. University of California

5. University of Wisconsin

6. Penn State University

7. North Carolina State University

8. Purdue University

9. Texas A&M University

10. University of Florida

SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray@tampatrib.com.

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