nuclear-news

Indiana Gov’t. – “Nuclear power project financing option sticks ratepayers with tab”

February 2 2014

John Russell of the Indianapolis Star reported again yesterday on SB 302, a bill that was withdrawn Jan. 21st and about nuclear power in Indiana. In a Jan. 16th story, Russell wrote at length about the financing option of construction work in progress (CWIP):

The only power plant in Indiana to be built under this financing plan, known as Construction Work in Progress (or CWIP) is Duke Energy’s coal-gasification plant in Edwardsport. The plant, originally approved at $1.9 billion, has soared to more than $3.3 billion, with ratepayers picking up much of the increase. * * *
The Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana said CWIP financing has stung Indiana ratepayers in the Edwardsport case and should be avoided for nuclear plants.
“The only reason utility companies need CWIP is because those investments are too risky, too expensive, and Wall Street won’t support them, similar to the Edwardsport (plant),” said Kerwin Olson, the group’s executive director. “If an investment is sound, then CWIP isn’t needed. If it’s not a good investment for shareholders, why is it a good investment for consumers?” * * *
Two efforts to build nuclear power plants in Indiana in the 1980s were scrapped in the face of rising opposition and high costs…..

[…]

But critics say the reason Wall Street won’t finance nuclear power is not because it is too expensive, but because it’s a losing economic proposition. Other forms of energy, including natural gas, are much cheaper today.
Wall Street, after all, invests heavily in other billion-dollar industries, from computer-chip factories to energy pipelines.
“The test that nuclear can’t pass isn’t how big it is, but whether energy can be generated at much lower cost in other ways,” said Peter Bradford, a former member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and former chair of the New York and Maine utility regulatory commissions. “The answer is clearly yes.”
A looming issue is how much a new nuclear project will cost — even at the small modular reactors, which are still years away from going from the drawing board to production. It’s difficult to give a price for one, since a utility has yet to buy or build one….

[…]

More here

http://wabashcoffeeparty.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/ind-gov-power-project-financing-option.html

February 2, 2014 - Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized