nuclear-news

Aging nuclear power plants very costly to ratepayers

Report: Ratepayers Could Save $1.7 Billion If Aging Nuclear Plant at Hanford, Washington Is Closed By: Washington and Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility Yuba Net.com SEATTLE/ PORTLAND – December 11, 2013 – Ratepayers could save at least $1.7 billion over the next 17 years if the Columbia Generating Station nuclear power plant on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State is closed according to a new report by McCullough Research of Portland, Oregon.

The report can be found online at http://www.psr.org/chapters/oregon/news/new-report-ratepayers-could.html.

The Columbia Generating Station, the only nuclear plant completed of the five plants begun by the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS), contains a General Electric boiling water reactor similar to those destroyed during Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

“We believe this report demonstrates clearly that aging nuclear reactors, in addition to having safety problems, are having trouble competing in the electric power market,” says Dr. Catherine Thomasson, PSR national executive director. The report was commissioned by the Washington and Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility local affiliate chapter.

The report makes four recommendations: the plant should be displaced by less expensive market solutions; Bonneville Power Administration should ask suppliers for firm bids to displace the plant; the displacement power should be purchased by plant owner Energy Northwest and supplied to BPA under an existing contract; and Energy Northwest should use a combination of training and employing current workers in plant decommissioning…….http://yubanet.com/usa/Report-Ratepayers-Could-Save-1-7-Billion-If-Aging-Nuclear-Plant-at-Hanford-Washington-Is-Closed.php#.UqtFG9JDt9U

December 13, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA