Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Noteworthy

Barack Obama gives green light to new wave of nuclear reactors | Environment | guardian.co.uk

It would seem from the article that the cost of a nuclear reactor in the US is about $4.4 billion. It's also interesting to note this:

The Southern reactors are to be built with the new Westinghouse AP1000 design, which Chu said was safer and more economical than the older generation of reactors. "If you lose control, it will not melt down," he said. "Three Mile Island was a partial melt down. It was serious, but on the other hand the containment vessel held."

Chu also disputed a report from the Congressional Budget Office that put the risk of default on loans to the nuclear industry as high as 50%. "We are looking at ways to increase ways of building these projects on time and on budget," he said.

Yes, I would have thought the risk of default on building a power plant would be pretty low.

No comments: