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No new nuclear power plants says retiring CEO of Exelon nulcear company

Exelon’s ‘Nuclear Guy’: No New Nukes Forbes, Jeff McMahon , C3/29/2012  Nuclear power is no longer an economically viable source of new energy in the United States, the freshly-retired CEO of Exelon, America’s largest producer of nuclear power, said in Chicago Thursday.

And it won’t become economically viable, he said, for the forseeable future….. Speaking to about 5o people at the University of Chicago‘s
Harris School of Public Policy, Rowe presented a series of slides
comparing the economic viability of various energy portfolios,
including the “King Coal” scenario favored by Republicans, the “Big
Wind” scenario favored by Democrats, and a “Playing Favorites”
scenario that shuffles and selects from various energy sources.

All were trumped by a portfolio that relies heavily on America’s
sudden abundance of natural gas, which has flooded the market since
the boom in hydraulic fracturing of shale gas. Natural gas futures
dropped to a 10-year low today—$2.15 for 1,000 cubic feet—on abundant
supply, the Associated Press reported .

“I’m the nuclear guy,” Rowe said. “And you won’t get better results
with nuclear. It just isn’t economic, and it’s not economic within a
foreseeable time frame.” Nuclear power remains a favorite of the Obama
Administration, particularly in the form of small and modular new
reactors. But Rowe’s pessimism about nuclear power reinforces
statements made by other nuclear experts since the Fukushima nuclear
accident in Japan.

However, Rowe did not touch upon the political vulnerability of
nuclear power since the Fukushima accident. His argument was economic
and, he added, paints a picture that Exelon itself does not savor.

Former ComEd CEO Tom Ayers built Exelon’s reactor fleet because, Rowe
said, he thought they were best for the environment. But Ayers was
suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease by the time the reactors broke even
on their initial cost. He died in 2007.

“I’m not fond of investments that don’t pay off before I’m incapable
of comprehending it,” said Rowe, who took over as chairman and CEO of
Exelon in 2003.

Rowe also served on the president’s Blue Ribbon Commission on
America’s Nuclear Future .
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2012/03/29/exelons-nuclear-guy-no-new-nukes/

March 30, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA