nuclear-news

USA’s nuclear industry moribund, so it lobbies for easier export rules

Nuclear Firms Seek Eased Export Rules as U.S. Demand Wanes Bloomberg News, By Brian Wingfield  October 01, 2012  The U.S. nuclear-power industry is seeking to ease export restrictions so it can sell equipment and technology to nations including China and Russia as domestic demand wanes for reactors.

Regulations unchanged since the end of the Cold War impede U.S. companies in gaining export licenses, putting suppliers at a global disadvantage, according to a report released today by the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based group whose members include
Exelon Corp. (EXC) and Southern Co. (SO)…..
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this year issued its first reactor-construction licenses in more than three decades, while U.S. companies struggle to arrange financing for additional units.

A glut of natural gas has lowered prices for the fuel, discouraging investment in more expensive sources including nuclear power.

Southern’s reactor project in Georgia is awaiting final approval 2 1/2 years after winning a conditional $8.3 billion Energy Department loan guarantee. The NRC in August imposed a two-year freeze on final decisions for power-plant licenses in response to a court decision
requiring a reassessment of risks associated with storing nuclear waste……..

October 3, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, politics