Nuclear Energy Is Not Inexpensive

Linked below is a strange little article sent to me by frequent commenter Tim Kingston, who notes:  “Thought this might interest you.  The energy universe can be complex.  Sometimes there no easy choices.”  The article’s point is that the world of electricity without nuclear is, in a word, expensive.

Thanks, Tim.  What you say is true: the world of energy requires us to make tough choices.  But the concept that nuclear is inexpensive is completely erroneous.

The actual cost of building these plants is almost never anywhere near the projected budget.  Readers may want to Google “nuclear plant cost overrun,” and read a few of the 312,000 articles they’ll find on the subject. Here’s one that refers to a certain nuclear project as “satanic,” based on the actual amount of the overrun ($6.66 billion). The Florida utility, FPL Group, now estimates the cost of building a new nuclear power plant at over $9 billion, nearly double their previous estimate.

We need to also keep in mind that the nuclear industry and its lobbies have carefully confused us about the costs of shipping and storing nuclear waste, which remains dangerous for as long as one million years.