nuclear-news

Nuclear power seeks govt funds, despite unsolved problems

Nuclear power revisited: The elephant in the roomThere’s still nowhere to put that toxic waste Star Tribune By BILL GRANT : September 26, 2009 Recently announced effort seeks to end a ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants within Minnesota…………The waste problem remains unsolved…………team of scientists who spent years studying the Yucca Mountain site was unable to resolve concerns about storage in the seismically active mountain. Even if the Yucca Mountain repository were to open, nuclear waste already accumulating at existing nuclear power plants would quickly overwhelm its capacity, leaving no room for waste from proposed new nuclear plants……

……Proponents of nuclear power suggest that the solution to the waste problem lies in reprocessing the waste for subsequent use in reactors. However, as the French experience demonstrates, reprocessing makes only a tiny dent in the overall volume of waste requiring storage while adding even more costs to taxpayers and utility ratepayers……..

…….Even if a new nuclear plant could be located and built on schedule, the estimated costs of electricity range from 10 to 17 cents per kilowatt hour. Compare this with the cost of wind energy at 4 to 7 cents or the cost of saving energy through energy efficiency at less than 2 cents……….

Ironically, the business interests that are a part of the new nuclear coalition have fought for years against even modest subsidies and policies for renewable energy. Yet these situational socialists have no qualms in seeking massive federal loan guarantees, federally backed accident insurance coverage and other subsidies to restart the moribund nuclear power industry.

Bill Grant: Nuclear power revisited: The elephant in the room | StarTribune.com

September 28, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, radioactive, reprocessing, uranium, wastes