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2005-01-31 Home Front: Tech

The Greens Speak: Nuclear Now! Roll Out The Neutrons!

Some of the world's most thoughtful greens have discovered the logic of nuclear power, including Gaia theorist James Lovelock, Greenpeace cofounder Patrick Moore, and Britain's Bishop Hugh Montefiore, a longtime board member of Friends of the Earth (see "Green vs. Green," page 82). Western Europe is quietly backing away from planned nuclear phaseouts. Finland has ordered a big reactor specifically to meet the terms of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. China's new nuke plants - 26 by 2025 - are part of a desperate effort at smog control.

Even the shell-shocked US nuclear industry is coming out of its stupor. The 2001 report of Vice President Cheney's energy task force was only the most high profile in a series of pro-nuke developments. Nuke boosters are especially buoyed by more efficient plant designs, streamlined licensing procedures, and the prospect of federal subsidies.

In fact, new plants are on the way, however tentatively. Three groups of generating companies have entered a bureaucratic maze expected to lead to formal applications for plants by 2008. If everything breaks right, the first new reactors in decades will be online by 2014. If this seems ambitious, it's not; the industry hopes merely to hold on to nuclear's current 20 percent of the rapidly growing US electric power market.

Posted by Zpaz 2005-01-31 3:51:24 PM|| || Front Page|| [11143 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 One standardized DoE approved design of medium economical size, instead of massive custom and unique cost overrun white elephants, will make the reintroduction of nuke power viable. Hold the government bureaucrats head in the chopping block to finalize the design. No going back two dozen times to retrofit something while the bugger is still being built.

Posted by Elmomoting Grunter8338 2005-01-31 6:54:21 PM|| 2005-01-31 6:54:21 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Bingo.

Posted by Mrs. Davis 2005-01-31 7:19:15 PM|| 2005-01-31 7:19:15 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 I like pebble-bed reactors. They can be mass produced, are inherently safe and modular.

Posted by Sobiesky 2005-01-31 7:35:54 PM|| 2005-01-31 7:35:54 PM|| Front Page Top

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