A nice summary by Paul Gipe, a leader in renewables for many years, posted at:
“Little data exists on the actual cost of new nuclear generation. Rumors persist in Ontario, Canada that the government’s delay in building its promised new reactors was due to “sticker shock” after receiving costly proposals. Whatever the reason for delay, the actual cost of the proposals are being hidden from public view.
The 186-page report, 2010 Comparative Costs of California Central Station Electricity Generation, found that a 1,000 MW Pressurized Water Reactor would generate electricity in 2018 from as little as $0.17/kWh to as much as $0.34/kWh.
The 157 page report by Versicherungsforen Leipzig estimated that the premium necessary to insure a nuclear reactor from accident would cost from €0.14/kWh ($0.20/kWh) to a staggering €2.36/kWh ($3.40/kWh).
Thus, the cost to insure a nuclear reactor — at a minimum — would cost as much as the electricity itself from a nuclear plant built in California in 2018.
Renewable energy, even costly solar photovoltaics, begins to look like a bargain to consumers when realistic costs of new nuclear plants come to light.”
Nothing new to report on Fukushima…they are still struggling to figure things out.
It will take years to wean ourselves off of nuclear power. Meanwhile the debates rage on.
Saudi Arabia announced that they will build 16 new reactors over the next 20 years.
That will never happen. Interesting ploy to support the diversion away from renewables.
Last week, the financial officer for oil development in Saudi Arabia said on CNN:
“BIN TALAL: The stiff position of Saudi Arabia, we want the price to be between $70 and $80. Not only to help the West, but also to help ourselves. We don’t want the West to go and find alternatives, because, clearly, the higher the price oil goes, the more you have incentive to go and find alternatives. So, really, our interest coincides with American interest, to have the price for around $70, $80 which is a price good for consumers and producers.”
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It’s all about the money…the status quo...the big money controlled by the Kock brothers, etc. No care about the future.
"The Tea Party congress hates the idea that the nation could be weaned off its energy dependence, or fossil fuels. They hate renewable energy because their primary sponsors in the fossil fuel industry want above all to slow progress on that front, and drag the nation back into the 19th century [see the CP post, "David Koch pulls the strings of the Tea Party extremists"].
We’ve seen a number of these over recent months, now the anti-science crusade continues. Lead by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), 9 members of congress have now asked for the closure of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO."
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_18203985
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Meanwhile, the floods continue, tornados and hurricanes blow by, drought and wildfires rage, food prices go up, CEOs are getting bigger bonuses, and we’re still worried about gays and abortions.
“…a nuclear waste advisor to the Japanese government reported that about 373 square miles near the Fukushima power station — an area roughly 17 times the size of Manhattan — may now be uninhabitable.”
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