US nuclear power plans hit by waste dispute

[kristopher]

US nuclear power plans hit by waste dispute

By Kevin Sieff in Washington

Published: May 13 2010 17:48 | Last updated: May 13 2010 17:48

The Obama administration’s efforts to foster a renaissance in nuclear power in the US are coming up against an old dilemma – what to do with the waste.

The climate bill before the Senate envisages the construction of the first US reactors in more than three decades as a solution to both global warming and the country’s addiction to oil; an expansion supported by President Barack Obama and Republicans at a time of new concerns about the safety of oil drilling.

But the issue of spent fuel storage is haunting US nuclear ambitions. In March, Mr Obama announced that Yucca Mountain, the country’s only prospective nuclear waste repository, would be shut before ever opening.

...The closure has shaken the nuclear power industry during what some are calling its long-awaited revival. The largest nuclear power company, Exelon, has said it will not construct new plants until progress is made on storage. “This is a major impediment to the development of new nuclear sites,” said John Rowe, Exelon’s chief executive...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/66176650-5eaa-11df-af86-00144feab49a.html

[FBaggins]

1. Has Southern Company said the same thing?

Where's the "hit" ?

[jpak]

2. So what is stopping Exelon from spending its OWN $$$ to dispose of its OWN spent fuel?

Oh, I know

Ronald Reagan gave it us - the taxpayers

and WE get to spend our "hard earned" to take THEIR spent fuel that made THEM lots and lots $$$ off THEIR hands

yup!

:puke:

[FBaggins]

3. You surely know better.

So why pretend otherwise unless perhaps the truth is inconvenient?