Belief-based Energy Technology Development in the United States: ...

Chapter 4 is an in-depth delineation and analysis of the commercializing stages of nuclear power and synthetic fuels. I devote special effort to reconstructing the sociopolitical and business environments of pivotal moments so the decisions may be better understood. In its early stages of commercialization, the technology was considered in the gray area, “on the cusp” of commercial competitiveness. In the case of nuclear power, the faith in the Atomic Age trumped the experience in coal-fired power. The utility placed the burden of proof (of competitiveness) on conventional (coal-fired power) technology rather than on innovative (unproven) nuclear power technology. Investors rushed into commercialization and ended up suffering tremendous losses. Even though the pioneers of nuclear power generally suffered heavy losses, many of them managed to survive. In the case of synfuel, few enthusiasts jump into the business, and the majority of the industry was rationally cautious about the unproven technology. The story of the only synfuel survivor is examined in this chapter.

Chapter 5 elaborates on the underlying zeitgeists/worldviews behind the pronuclear and antinuclear controversies. Although the collapse of the nuclear industry largely synchronized with debunking the atomic dream, the mechanism was not the same. The economic reality about rise and fall of the industry is discussed in chapter 4. Chapter 5 deals with the mental images. Nuclear power was, at first, enthusiastically embraced as a symbol of modernity, and was later strongly protested by the younger generation who began to have second thoughts about modernity. The nuclear technology outlived its supporting modernist zeitgeist. The protest against nuclear power went beyond the technology itself. It has a lot to do with the symbolic meanings it embodied. Without some understanding of the competing worldviews behind the pro- and anti-nuclear controversy, it would not be possible to reach a compromise on nuclear power policy.

Chapter 6 summarizes and concludes my findings. In addition to answering my overarching question, which is to explain the divergence in the policy styles in nuclear power and synthetic fuel, I also discuss many policy implications. Some policy implications are direct derivatives of the answer to the overarching question, while others are not.