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newsobserver.com | Nuclear power: the negatives

Nuclear power: the negatives

The News & Observer Hugh Haskell  Oct 14, 2008

CARY – Proponents of nuclear power speak of a “nuclear renaissance.” The facts show that rather than a renaissance, we face a nuclear apocalypse, heralded by, instead of the traditional four horsemen, five horsemen: cost, proliferation, risk, waste, and water consumption. Consider them individually: Consider them individually:

COST. In spite of early claims that nuclear power would be “too cheap to meter,” nuclear power started out expensive, requiring large subsidies and loan guarantees from the government, and it has stayed that way. A preliminary estimate for two new 1,000 megawatt nuclear plants proposed by Progress Energy in Florida is $17 billion, and that cost is likely to grow as required revisions to Westinghouse’s AP-1000 advanced reactor design add years to the time before those reactors will be ready for use.

An industry estimate puts the cost of new nuclear power at 14c per kilowatt-hour, and rising — higher than all other sources of energy except solar, whose cost is falling.

Potential financiers of nuclear power remain leery — cost and potential safety problems make the risks of new nuclear power too high.

newsobserver.com | Nuclear power: the negatives

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October 15, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs