nuclear-news

Japan nuclear disaster puts spanner in the works of USA’s energy policy

Why Japan’s Nuke Disaster Could Upset US Energy Policy Assumptions WSJ By Russell Garland, 7 April 11, Although the extent and consequences of the Japanese nuclear disaster are still unknown, it will ripple through U.S. energy policy and could upset an underlying assumption, according to an energy expert speaking at the annual meeting of the National Venture Capital Association in Boston.

Ernest Moniz, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and director of MIT’s Energy Initiative, gave four “very sure bets” about the effects of events at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex.

Two seem givens: that nuclear industry costs are going to go up and that there will be an end-to-end review of waste-storage practices. But Moniz also predicted that 20-year license extensions “are going to be looked at with a lot more scrutiny.” Some that have already been granted might be revisited, he said……

April 8, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general