Nuclear Energy

1. Reviewing the Nuclear Renaissance in the USA
The United States has 104 operating nuclear power plants (in 2009). ccxcv While this number
is more than any other country in the world, the number of cancelled projects is even larger. Of the
253 nuclear plants ordered in the US since 1953, 71 were cancelled before construction started, 50
were cancelled after construction began, and another 28 were permanently shut down before their
40-year operating licenses expired. ccxcvi
No new order for a nuclear reactor has been placed in the US since 1978, and even that plant
was later cancelled. In fact, all U.S. reactor orders after 1973 were eventually cancelled – that is, it
is now 37 years since a new order that has not subsequently been cancelled (October 1973) has been
placed. The last reactor to be completed was Watts Bar 1, in 1996. Its completion took 23
years. ccxcvii
Despite these dismal statistics, the nuclear industry has been claiming that a nuclear renaissance
is underway in the USA. Let us take a brief look at the facts on which it is basing its claim:
iv. While the US nuclear power industry has failed in building new reactors, it has been
successful in getting plant life extensions. Originally, reactor life was envisaged to be 40
years. But now, utilities are seeking permission to operate reactors for up to 60 years. As of
July 2009, 54 US nuclear plants had been granted a life extension license by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, 16 applications are under review and around 21 have submitted
letters of intent. ccxcviii
v. Construction on the 1,200 MW Watts Bar-2 reactor has been restarted by TVA. Its
construction had begun in 1972 but was frozen in 1985. The reactor is now expected to be
completed by 2012. ccxcix
vi. Over the last 10 years, the US government has given out billions of dollars in additional
financial handouts to the nuclear industry.
vii. In 2007, for the first time in three decades (since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979),
utilities applied for a license to build a nuclear plant. As of July 2009, the US Nuclear
Regulatory Commission had received 17 applications for a total of 26 units. ccc
viii. In February 2010, the Obama administration announced the authorisation of the first
loan guarantee of $8.3 billion to the Southern Company to build two new 1,100 megawatt
Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors at its Plant Vogtle in Georgia. ccci
While the nuclear industry has indeed succeeded in winning billions of dollars in additional
subsidies from the US government, the overall future prospects are not as rosy as it is claiming them
to be. Despite its multi-billion dollar propaganda campaign to convince the people about the
benefits of nuclear energy, public opposition to nuclear energy continues to remain strong, and it
has led to powerful setbacks for the nuclear industry. Let us take a look at the other side of the
picture.
81