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Drought could force nuke-plant shutdowns
Mitch Weiss, Associated Press
Nuclear reactors across the Southeast could be forced to throttle back or temporarily shut down later this year because drought is drying up the rivers and lakes that supply power plants with the awesome amounts of cooling water they need to operate.
Utility officials say such shutdowns probably wouldn’t result in blackouts. But they could lead to shockingly higher electric bills for millions of Southerners, because the region’s utilities may be forced to buy expensive replacement power from other energy companies.
(23 January 2008)
Also at the Miami Herald (thanks to reader EO).
Former NRC head Curtiss discusses future of Yucca, expansion of nuclear in U.S. (video and transcript)
Monica Trauzzi, OnPoint via E&E TV
With Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) staunchly opposing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project, and funding for Yucca being dramatically cut, is there hope for this project? What impact does the future of Yucca have on the expansion of nuclear energy in the United States?
During today’s OnPoint, James Curtiss, chair of the energy practice at Winston & Strawn and a former commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, previews the year ahead for nuclear and Yucca Mountain. He discusses the challenges facing the nuclear industry in convincing Wall Street to invest in new projects and explains why international support for nuclear is rapidly increasing.
(24 January 2008)
