From a strictly cost/benefit analysis, Nuclear Energy has never made any sense, and that's before we consider the cost of 'waste.'
Consider this -- Nuclear Energy costs
$7,500 per kilowatt to build
That’s more than double the capital costs for solar power and three and a half times the cost for wind.
the most heavily subsidized industry in the energy sector.
In 2005, Congress handed the nuclear power industry $13 billion in federal aid, and two years later went on to approve an additional $20.5 billion in loan guarantees, making U.S. taxpayers the cosigners on loans for new nuclear projects -- half of which are expected to end in defaults.
Wind is already more competitive than electricity generated from new nuclear and coal-fired power plants.
From Democracy Now:
“Serious Danger of a Full Core Meltdown”: Update on Japan’s Nuclear Catastrophe
From the Institute for Southern Studies:
Duke Energy's nuclear ambitions face fallout from Japanese crisis
[worth reading in its entirety]
With the nuclear crisis in Japan growing more alarming by the hour, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers appeared before the North Carolina Utilities Commission yesterday to ask for permission to spend an additional $267 million for the planning of two new reactors at its Lee plant in South Carolina. If approved, the request would bring the amount Duke will pay for pre-construction work there to $459 million -- money it's expected to seek to recoup from ratepayers.
INSTITUTE INDEX - U.S. nuclear-powered politics
Amount the nuclear power industry spent on lobbying from 2000 to 2010: $600 million
Amount the industry spent during that same period on campaign contributions: nearly $63 million
Amount the Nuclear Energy Institute -- an industry trade group whose members include the company that owns the imperiled Japanese nuclear plant -- spent lobbying the federal government during the past three years: $6.12 million
Number of federal lobbyists on the NEI's roster: more than 20
Amount that Atlanta's Southern Company, which has major nuclear investments and is seeking to build new reactors, has spent on federal lobbying efforts each year since 2004: at least $10 million
Amount that the PAC for Duke Energy, which is also planning to build new nuclear reactors, spent during the 2010 election: $1.45 million
Percent of Duke Energy PAC's money that went to Democrats: 55
Amount of credit line that North Carolina-based Duke Energy recently guaranteed for the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Charlotte: $10 million
Under new Democratic Party rules, amount at which corporate contributions for the convention are supposed to be capped: $100,000
Amount Duke Energy plans to spend building new reactors that still need state and federal approvals: $11 billion
Date on which the German government called for a "measured exit" from nuclear power and a speedy transition to renewable energy: 3/17/2011
Date on which the Chinese government said it would suspend approvals for nuclear power plants so it can conduct safety checks: 3/16/2011
Since the Japanese crisis erupted last week, number of U.S. lawmakers who have been briefed by NEI lobbyists seeking to head off any restrictions on nuclear power: about 50
Date on which Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the Obama administration would press ahead with efforts to encourage new reactor construction: 3/16/2011
Total amount the White House is seeking in taxpayer-backed nuclear loan guarantees, $8.3 billion of which have already been set aside already for two new reactors at Southern Co.' s Plant Vogtle in Georgia.: $54 billion
Amount the nuclear power industry has received in federal subsidies since its inception in 1948: tens of billions
Problematic design of Japan's imperiled nuclear reactors common in U.S.
The nuclear power disaster triggered by the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on Friday is worsening by the day and raising concerns about nuclear safety in the United States.
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