The Christian Science Monitor is reporting that More nuclear power plants are on the way. After 30 years with not one single filling, over the next year an one half, Government Regulators are expecting applications for up to 27 new plants. A virtual renaissance in the nuclear power industry. While long term storage and waste transportation issues remain, nuclear power plant generate virtually no greenhouse-gas emissions.
I for one can't wait to see how the Greenies (Earth Conservationists) that for years has been telling us for years that Global Warming is going to kill us all, are going to feel about these new plants that are undoubtedly far more CO2 friendly than the traditional coal or oil fired plants.
On average these new reactors are going to be larger than the United States existing 104 reactors. But we have learned allot about Nuclear Power over the last 30 years so they'll also be safer and require less maintenance.
It won't help the Greenies, that these new plants will be assisted by federal loan guarantees. The article states:
Are the Greenies so concerned about Global Warming that they will forget about their longstanding hatred of the Nuclear Power industry. I bet not..."Clearly, [nuclear power companies] are not so confident or they wouldn't want the federal government and taxpayer to be guaranteeing the loans," says David Schlissel a longtime nuclear industry analyst with consulting firm Synapse Energy Economics in Cambridge, Mass.
The industry says it needs the aid to get nuclear power rolling again.
"Yes, we need some help and assistance getting these large projects off the ground," says Paul Genoa of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) in Washington. "This will always be labeled as subsidies. But one person's subsidy is another person's incentive. These are the first nuclear power plants to be built in years and there's a role for government here."
Also, loan guarantees don't affect taxpayers unless those loans are defaulted on, he points out.
Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the industry already is getting an estimated $12 billion in tax breaks and other largess. The Price-Anderson Act, a law dating from the 1950s, caps the industry's liability at about $10 billion in the event of an accident, even though studies show that a major nuclear meltdown could easily run 50 times that.
Now, the Senate version of a new energy bill includes a provision that could provide tens of billions of dollars more in federal-loan guarantees. On Tuesday, the Energy Department announced it would provide up to $2 billion in federal risk insurance for the first six new nuclear-plant projects, protecting them against losses from regulatory or legal delays.
"In my view, these kinds of taxpayer subsidies are vital to the industry, and they wouldn't be building any of these new nuclear plants without them," says Doug Koplow, president of Earth Track, a Cambridge, Mass., consulting firm that analyzes subsidies for all forms of energy, including biofuels.
The nuclear industry gets about $9 billion a year in federal subsidies, he calculates, trailing only oil and coal in federal energy aid. That amount could go far higher if companies were to begin defaulting on guaranteed loans, he adds.
The nuclear industry has already put Congress on notice that it could require loan guarantees of at least $20 billion for planned projects – and more later, NEI officials told The New York Times in July.
In fact, I'll bet that when these applications come up for review, they will abandon all thoughts of Global Warming and return to the precautions of Nuclear Catastrophe.
Stay tuned this may get interesting.
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