Carbon Price Alone Cannot Unlock US Nuclear Ambitions by Gloria Gonzalez

A federal carbon price would provide a major boost to the US nuclear power industry, but would not solve all its problems, experts said.
“That would turn the industry around,” Richard Caperton, policy analyst for the Center for American Progress, told attendees of the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Missoula, Montana last week. “There are still some other issues: cheap natural gas, short-term low electricity demand. But a carbon price really reshapes the electricity industry and I think reshapes it to the benefit of the nuclear industry.”
But there is a lot of cheerleading for an industry that would only generate 4-5GW by the end of 2020, he said. In comparison, the wind sector brought 10GW of power online last year.
“Nuclear power has a lot of benefits, and there are certainly some drawbacks to renewable power, but the renewable industry has taken off,” Caperton said.
The nuclear industry would also thrive if there was a level playing field, argued Paul Genoa, director of policy development for the Nuclear Energy Institute. The renewable sector is supported by state renewable portfolio standards and subsidy fees for loan guarantees paid by the government, he said.
However, nuclear power also has comparable production tax credits and comparable, if not more advantageous, research and development funding, Caperton countered. “It’s not like the nuclear industry is hurting for government support,” he said.
The US has four nuclear plants in the pre-construction phase in Georgia and South Carolina, with 21 applications under review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Genoa said.
Right now, the biggest problem for the industry is that the economy is “in the tank” and electricity demand is lower because of the recession, Genoa added. “We don’t have a single problem with siting plants,” he said. More at:
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