nuclear-news

‘Nuclear Renaissance’ dragging on slowly but not surely

A ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ Stumbles Forward
The New York Times September 9, 2009, By Matthew L. Wald
A dispatch from the uneven march toward new nuclear reactor construction:…………………..With a recession that has both reduced demand for electricity and made it difficult for utilities to borrow money, considerable uncertainty surrounds planned reactor projects — despite the expedited process..………………….while Exelon, the Chicago-based utility, had planned to build two of G.E.’s new reactors in Victoria County, Tex., the utility dropped the idea last November, at least partly because of delays in design certification. It switched to an older Hitachi design.

Dominion, another large energy provider, still has plans on file for an E.S.B.W.R. in Virginia, but it says it is exploring alternatives.

Detroit Edison is the only company still on record as wanting to build an E.S.B.W.R………………….

On August 27, the N.R.C. told Westinghouse in a letter that “schedule revision was necessitated” by the company’s slowness in providing design information. Westinghouse, the regulators said, had delivered some information later than promised.

(The N.R.C.’s engineers are mulling the AP1000’s reactor sump — the area under the reactor where debris would accumulate in some kinds of accidents. The schedule for when the commission would approve the design was left unclear.)

A ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ Stumbles Forward – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com

September 10, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs