nuclear-news

Nuclear power revival being killed off by cheaper, safer, gas

Cheap Natural Gas Unplugs U.S. Nuclear-Power Revival, WSJ,  BY REBECCA SMITH, 16 March 12, The U.S. nuclear industry seemed to be staging a comeback several years ago, with 15 power companies proposing as many as 29 new reactors. Today, only two projects are moving off the drawing board.

What killed the revival wasn’t last year’s nuclear accident in Japan, nor was it a soft economy that dented demand for electricity. Rather, a shale-gas boom flooded the U.S. market with cheap natural gas, offering utilities a cheaper, less risky alternative to nuclear
technology.

“It’s killed off new coal and now it’s killing off new nuclear,” says David Crane, chief executive of NRG Energy Inc http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304459804577281490129153610.html

March 17, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA