The “NY Times” reports today on the massive cost overruns of a nuclear power plant at Olkiluoto in Finland and, in the end, the uncertainty of the date of its completion, testing and operation – if ever. The article reports that the difficulties with this flagship in the new generation of nuclear plants is making the American nuclear industry nervous. “…early experience suggests these new reactors will be no easier or cheaper to build than the ones of a generation ago, when cost overruns – and then accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl – ended the last nuclear construction boom.”
Full disclosure: I have had an aversion to nuclear power for decades. I read Poisoned Power in 1971 and have seen precious little since then to change my mind about this pernicious technology. I thought then and I thought now we can do better. See some further thoughts here and here on nuclear power. I wrote recently at this post about hearing the CEO of the largest nuclear power operator, Exelon, call for caution on proceeding with expansion until the waste storage issue is resolved. I noted there: “For a really in-depth and smart analysis from folks who’ve been studying nuclear power for decades, see Nuclear Power in a Warming World from the Union of Concerned Scientists.”
