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I love the pro-nuke articles that have stuff like this in them. Like it's some little side issue to be addressed rather than an inherent flaw. Free markets for thee but not for me. Privatize profits, socialize risks. (Reminds me of Bernanke with Bear, Stearns. Free markets that self-correct? That kind of talk is only for when the "Smartest Guys in the Room" types are makin' and rakin'.)
No mention of what the other alternatives to nukes will be ten years down the road either. We know that wind has already dropped 80% in cost in the last 20 years. Since it's already competitive with conventional fuels (thus the booming market for turbines), one can only imagine that this lower cost trend will continue for a bit. Likewise for all the different electrical storage systems now just getting a serious look.
What will the pro-nuke politicians tell the public when they're stuck with the big glowing blue elephants? Or like one wag said about a refurbished nuke in the USA; 8-track technology at an iPod price. It's like Lucy with the football all over again. Your turn Charlie Brown.
Time to Press the Nuclear Start Button - Telegraph (UK) - 30 Mar 08
"Nuclear is different from other forms of generation because it cannot be switched off when the price goes down and there is an irreducible minimum of fixed costs for excellent reasons of safety. During the British Energy crisis, the regulatory system simply decreed that if nuclear could not survive in a low-price environment, then it should go to the wall. That doctrine will need to be reformed."
No mention of what the other alternatives to nukes will be ten years down the road either. We know that wind has already dropped 80% in cost in the last 20 years. Since it's already competitive with conventional fuels (thus the booming market for turbines), one can only imagine that this lower cost trend will continue for a bit. Likewise for all the different electrical storage systems now just getting a serious look.
What will the pro-nuke politicians tell the public when they're stuck with the big glowing blue elephants? Or like one wag said about a refurbished nuke in the USA; 8-track technology at an iPod price. It's like Lucy with the football all over again. Your turn Charlie Brown.
Time to Press the Nuclear Start Button - Telegraph (UK) - 30 Mar 08
"Nuclear is different from other forms of generation because it cannot be switched off when the price goes down and there is an irreducible minimum of fixed costs for excellent reasons of safety. During the British Energy crisis, the regulatory system simply decreed that if nuclear could not survive in a low-price environment, then it should go to the wall. That doctrine will need to be reformed."
