Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The nuclear renaissance is here

Applications boom for new nuclear power plants, as the need for zero-carbon power rekindles the nuclear power industry.

Remember the Bellefonte nuclear plant? The one that was partially built and then mothballed? Well, it's back. The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to build the first of a new generation of advanced nuclear power plants on the site of the failed Bellefonte plant.

Is nuclear power an answer to global warming and the need to cut CO2 emissions? Some say yes, what do you think? The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (remember them?) expects upwards of 30 applications to build new nuke plants in the US over the next several years.

It's a hard sell here in the northwest, where we're still getting over the WPPSS debacle. The Washington Public Power Supply System (with the unfortunate name "WHOOPS") created a massive public bond default that we're still repaying. We owe $2.25 BILLION and most of the power generation never came online.

Even so, nuclear power is coming back. Who knew in the 1980s that CO2 would turn out to be scarier than plutonium?

2 comments:

Hodad said...

well well
on your blog, thanks for bringing this up
but sadly the complacent USA folks will allow this as they are ignorant and most all of the kids here are worthless
or maybe hope hope that they will work to stop this as we did in the 70's, with groups such as AMUSE and Kudzu Alliance
sabotage, at the plan and construction levels stopped shearon harriss plant o just one reactor but still on a fault, duh!
HEMP is a major part of the solution for all this and too many people on this planet
when will you sheeples wake up, get rid of the bush's and all their cronies and drug dealers, yes like Hilary time for revolution sheeples, but alas it will be the 12 million Hispanic and 4 million American Indians with arms that will begin the revolution

forget it Mark, USA obese arrogant ignorant greedy 'sheeples' will allow this to happen greed overcomes

oh well, back to Paradise for me in a month
, No Nukes in Central America, and never will be

thomas robey said...

I think that nuclear energy should be reexamined for its potential. Establishing an objective system for evaluating cost, risk & benefit will be quite a task, and I agree that the NW will not be the leader on this one. What with our plentiful hydro power and all... I do think that it is a good idea for the West to reconsider this, and not leave innovation to politically labile states...