Reactor Reax Top Stories - Washington Post: In U.S., Nuclear Energy Loses Momentum...

(WASHINGTON DC) - Today in Reactor Reax, the Washington Post reports that nuclear energy is losing momentum in the U.S., amid economic head winds; in Fukushima Fallout, CBS News reports that the meltdown in Japan forced 170,000 people from their homes, many of them permanently.

The Calvert Cliffs Reactor license was denied Over Foreign Ownership, and Tampa Bay Times reports, Consumer advocate says nuclear plant fiasco means financial 'armageddon'...

In U.S., nuclear energy loses momentum amid economic head winds, safety issues, Washington Post, March 11, 2013. "Two years after the tsunami that crippled Japan's Fukushima power complex, the U.S. nuclear industry is facing fundamental and far-reaching challenges to its own future. Only five years ago, industry executives and leading politicians were talking about an American nuclear renaissance, hoping to add 20 or more reactors to the 104-unit U.S. nuclear fleet. But today those companies are holding back in the face of falling natural gas prices and sluggish and uncertain electricity demand. Only five new plants are under construction, while at least that many are slated for permanent closure or shut down indefinitely over safety issues."

Fukushima Fallout, CBS News, March 10, 2013. "The meltdown in Japan forced 170,000 people from their homes, many of them permanently. A group of U.S. Navy veterans are saying that exposure to leaking radiation from the plant has made them sick."

Scana Reactors to Cost $10 Billion More Than Gas Plants, Bloomberg, March 14, 2013. "Scana Corp. (SCG), owner of South Carolina's largest power and natural gas utility, would save consumers almost $10 billion over 40 years by scrapping two nuclear reactors it's constructing and instead building gas- fired plants, according to a report. The case for Scana's Summer nuclear project 'could not be more abysmal for ratepayers,' Mark Cooper, an economic analyst with the Vermont Law School's Institute for Energy and the Environment, said in a statement today. The reactors face $283 million in new construction costs, recession-flattened demand and a 73 percent drop in gas prices since regulators approved the project in 2009, according to the report."

SCANA, Santee Cooper should scrap South Carolina nuclear expansion, report says, The (Charleston, SC) Post and Courier, March 14, 2013. "A new study says SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper would save ratepayers almost $10 billion over 40 years by scrapping the two nuclear reactors they're building and developing natural gas plants instead. The report, 'Public Risk, Private Profit, Ratepayer Cost, Utility Imprudence,' was released today by the Vermont Law School Institute for Energy and the Environment. 'The best estimate of the excess costs that will be borne by South Carolina ratepayers and the South Carolina economy is in the range of $10 billion,' the institute said in statement."

Calvert Cliffs Reactor License Denied Over Foreign Ownership, Environment News Service, March 13, 2013. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has upheld the denial of a construction and operating license for a third nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland because the company proposing the reactor is owned by the French government. The decision marks the first time in history that the NRC commissioners have upheld the denial of a license for a commercial nuclear reactor, and only the second time a license for a commercial nuclear facility has been denied. The first license denial was for a uranium enrichment project in Homer, Louisiana, which was denied on environmental justice grounds in 1997."

Consumer advocate says nuclear plant fiasco means financial 'armageddon', Tampa Bay Times, March 12, 2013. "A warning to Progress Energy Florida customers about the financial impact of losing the Crystal River nuclear plant: Brace yourselves for 'armageddon.' Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon, says Charles Rehwinkel, deputy state public counsel, who represents consumers before the Public Service Commission. To date, customers have been spared the impact of Progress Energy Florida's disastrous nuclear energy track record, which includes: breaking the Crystal River plant beyond repair; recovery of costs related to the plant's assets; hundreds of millions in replacement power; planning a new natural gas plant to replace Crystal River; and spending $1.5 billion on the proposed but indefinitely delayed nuclear complex in Levy County."

"Reactor Reax" is featured on www.NuclearBailout.org, a Web site maintained by Physicians for Social Responsibility.