[ RadSafe ] PG&E Signs World's Largest Solar Power Deal

[Jean-Francois, Stephane]

 Otto, you are raising a question that I will humbly ask: How do one
calculate the real cost of energy production ?  4 cents sounds a very
small number for a nuclear power plant if you consider the management of
the long lived waste, potential decommissioning (and the provision that
we need to set aside), technical staff, etc. In comparison , I have
heard here in Quebec that hydro-electricity is about 1.6 cents per KWH
and I am not certain that this number carry ALL the economical factors
either.

If you don't consider the complete picture, I am pretty sure that any
traditional source of energy will be a GOOD business decision, even
nuclear and that we will never try to innovate and explore. I am not shy
in saluting any initiative to make clean energy when we can and that
might encourage research in the field. Let's call that a scientific
subvention. I would like to see the same in the field of Health Physics
(and nuclear power) but we are still not very good in selling our
product. Wind production use to cost 30 cents 10 years ago, we are now
at what, 8 to 12 cents ? We have to start somewhere don't you think ?

BTW, I am not against nuclear energy, I am simply questioning. So the
persons who are anti-anti-nuclear, please, don't shoot at me, you are
not speaking to the right person. 

Regards,

Stephane Jean-Francois, Eng., CHP,
Manager, Environmental and Health Physics services
Safety, Environment and Site Services
Merck Frosst Canada

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On
Behalf Of Otto Raabe
Sent: 25 juillet 2007 22:25 PM
To: Sandy Perle; radsafe at radlab.nl; powernet at hps1.org
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] PG&E Signs World's Largest Solar Power Deal

At 12:04 PM 7/25/2007, Sandy Perle wrote:
>PG&E Signs World's Largest Solar Power Deal
>Green Wombat - Jul 25- California utility PG&E today will announce an
>agreement to buy 553 megawatts of electricity from a solar power
>plant to be built by Israeli company Solel in the Mojave Desert.
************************
July 25, 2007

At about 40 cents per kilowatt-hour compared to 4 cents at PG&E's 
Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, this deal must be a public relations 
gambit to coddle the California  environmentalists. It is certainly 
not a good business investment. An even in the Mojave desert there 
will be no power at night!

Otto


Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP
Center for Health & the Environment
University of California
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
E-Mail: ograabe at ucdavis.edu
Phone: (530) 752-7754   FAX: (530) 758-6140 
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