nuclear-news

Nuclear power politics in USA: even Conservatives say it’s too costly

The 2016 politics of nuclear energy, Washington Examiner By JOHN SICILIANO • 1/10/16 The presidential election may offer hope for a resurgence of interest in nuclear energy. And if a Republican wins the White House, it’s more likely that the centerpiece of that effort, a controversial nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, will move forward.

Republicans stand for what they call the “law of the land,” referring to the fact that Congress chose Yucca Mountain to be the nation’s nuclear waste dump, and that has not changed despite President Obama’s and congressional Democrats’ success in upending the project and focusing instead on wind and solar power.

But even with a president who favors nuclear energy, it will still prove difficult to build the site to take radioactive waste from nearly 100 power plants…

…..opponents say it’s unsafe. But both sides agree that building more nuclear plants hinges on waste disposal.

It pits the administration against lawmakers……

…A big barrier to the nuclear option is price. Ben Zycher, senior energy fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said new nuclear reactors cost far too much, especially since natural gas is so cheap. That could sideline nuclear energy and Yucca Mountain this election year……. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/the-2016-politics-of-nuclear-energy/article/2579855

January 12, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general