In reaction to
the NRC denying a nuclear permit for Calvert Cliffs,
some nuclear backers suggest
changing the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to permit majority foreign ownership
of nuclear reactors.
What will they suggest next?
Asking Iran to invest in U.S. nukes?
Steve Skutnik wrote for http://theenergycollective.com 5 September 2012,
A cost-free way to open up nuclear investment,
If this seems entirely backward in a world of global production and
investment, that’s because it is. The current regulation is an
artifact of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which first authorized
private ownership of nuclear facilities. (Prior to this—per
the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, all nuclear technology was considered
a state secret, during the short time in which the U.S. enjoyed a
monopoly on the technology.)
Is there any real compelling reason for restrictions on foreign
ownership and investment in nuclear facilities to exist at a time
when the U.S. holding a monopoly on the technology has long since
passed? Issues of safety here of course are irrelevant—the
facilities would be licensed and regulated by the NRC, just as any
other nuclear facility is now. About the only salient objection is
the political one—i.e., the implications of a foreign entity
maintaining controlling ownership in key infrastructure. (Although
it’s hard to see anyone getting particularly upset about the
reverse—U.S. entities owning a controlling stake in
infrastructure in other nations.)
Yeah, sure, strict regulation
will deal with that, just like it prevents fracking from setting
drinking water on fire, or BP from poisoning the Gulf.
The new NRC head is
maybe well-meaning,
but it’s the same NRC
that gave Vogtle 1 a clean bill just before it had to shut down
and the same NRC that’s ignoring
cancer in Shell Bluff.
Oh, by the way, the article gets to the main point eventually:
Continue reading →
anti-nuke and pro-solar activists:
the leaky San Onofre nukes will stay closed for good!
Cost to close them?
Between between $450 million and $650.
This is after
SoCal Edison and 20% owner San Diego Gas & Electric “more than $780
million replacing the steam generators several years ago, which
ratepayers are now repaying.”
The new Plant Vogtle nukes are already about
a billion dollars over and 19 months behind:
let’s
stop them now before Georgia Power and Southern Company
waste any more of our money on them.
PR from SoCal Edison today,
Southern California Edison Announces Plans to Retire San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station,
