[ RadSafe ] All the Energy We Will Need for Millennia

[James Salsman]

Eric M. Goldin wrote:

>... James stated that wind generation is 2 cents/kWh....

No, I was quoting Elizabeth Salerno, the American Wind Energy
Association's Director of Industry and Data Analysis, who said wind
has been selling for 5-6 cents/kWh this year, which is two cents less
expensive than coal.  She also says more than twice as much wind is
being installed this year in the US than last year; wind turbine
delivery times are now under a year, down from three years last year,
and turbines are being financed simply by bank debt instead of tax
subsidy credits:
http://cleantechnica.com/2011/05/01/cost-of-wind-power-kicks-coals-butt-better-than-natural-gas-could-power-your-ev-for-0-70gallon/

Otto G. Raabe wrote:

> Electricity from current nuclear reactors costs about 3 cents per kilowatt hour.

The lowest figure for nuclear I've ever seen documented, without any
added costs from NRC siting and facilities requirements, NIMBY
opposition, externalities, and regulatory, mining, or disposal
overhead costs was 8.4 cents from an MIT study about two years ago.
The 25-30 cents/kWh figure is from this study of realized historical
costs in the US by a municipal government accountant:
http://web.archive.org/web/20090225154550/http://climateprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/nuclear-costs-2009.pdf

Vermont Law School professor Ben Sovacool says the actual realized
cost in the US rises to 41 to 80 cents/kWh when the cost of nuclear
plant decommissioning is amortized (Benjamin K. Sovacool (2011)
"Contesting the Future of Nuclear Power: A Critical Global Assessment
of Atomic Energy," World Scientific, p. 126.)  Imagine what it would
be without the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act.