Courtesy of Union Of Concerned Scientists, The Equation. By Elliott Negin Nuclear power proponents have long been prone to wishful thinking. Back in 1954, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Lewis Strauss famously predicted that nuclear-generated electricity would ultimately become “too cheap to meter.” Today, nuclear power is among the most expensive forms of electricity. Strauss’s successor at … [continued]
This equates to a roughly $4 billion annual subsidy to the US nuclear industry, in addition to the $1.6 billion in permanent tax breaks in the US federal tax code.
A new study from Princeton University and the Union of Concerned Scientists has revealed that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) relies on faulty analysis to “justify its refusal to adopt a critical measure for protecting Americans from the occurrence of a catastrophic nuclear-waste fire at any one of dozens of reactor sites around the country.”
By Mark Leyse Dear Chairman Burns: You and the Commissioners approved the publication of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to deny proposed regulations on improving evaluations of spent fuel pool fires, provided that the Staff’s draft of the decision was “subject to the attached edits.”[1] But what were the “edits” … [continued]
The many-sided battle over nuclear power continues with a clear break over politics in Illinois. The company and the government are dancing around the issues currently, with the industry essentially taking the position that government (read: the people) should subsidize the waning years of nuclear installations, or else. That state’s … [continued]
Originally published on EIA. Significant retirements of nuclear and coal power plants in the United States could change the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by the electric power sector. EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (AEO2014) features several accelerated retirements cases that represent conditions leading to additional coal and nuclear … [continued]
Originally published on EIA. By Jeffrey Jones and Michael Leff In 2012, coal-fired and nuclear power plants together provided 56% of the electricity generated in the United States. The role of these technologies in the U.S. generation mix has been changing since 2009, as both low natural gas prices and … [continued]
Scientists at the US government laboratory which developed the first atomic bomb say nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed and able to power about 20,000 homes will be available within the next five years. The miniature reactors will be factory-sealed, absent of any weapon-grade materials, and also have … [continued]
