[ RadSafe ] Nuclear Power Study

[Joel C.]

 From the web:

Why Nuclear Power Lost Its Glow

Nuclear power in the United States may soon undergo a revival. The White House has pledged to triple the amount of federal loan guarantees for the construction of new reactors; and the Department of Energy has said that if big reactors are too costly to build, it would support building smaller, cheaper ones designed to serve local communities and businesses. This prospect raises the question: Why did nuclear power languish for three decades?
		
The answer may have little to do with standard explanations, such as the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979 and concerns about waste disposal. According to sociologist William Beaver (Robert Morris University), the seeds of the industry's demise were planted in the 1950s, when federal policymakers jumpstarted commercial nuclear power with lavish subsidies. By 1960, federal subsidies to the industry totaled about $7 billion in today's dollars.
		
The government scramble, Beaver argues, bypassed the development of economical nuclear power, which required time to mature and become a routine industrial process. Had the federal role been more limited, General Electric, Westinghouse, and other manufacturers would have developed commercial reactors, but at a much slower pace. Beaver writes: "Perhaps the country asked too much from the technology--a resurgence of national vitality during the Cold War, along with the enhanced prosperity that inexpensive energy helps to achieve."
		
"The Failed Promise of Nuclear Power," by William Beaver (The Independent Review, Winter 2011)
		
"The Demise of Yucca Mountain," by William Beaver (The Independent Review, Summer 2010)
 


Joel I. Cehn
joelc at alum.wpi.edu