The rebirth of nuclear?

The focus of the May 07/June/07 issue of EnergyBiz magazine is "The Rebirth of Nuclear". In his editorial for the issue editor-in-chief Martin Rosenberg writes:

"The heart of this issue is concerned with the rebirth of nuclear power. You are reading it here first. Starting this fall, nuclear power will be all over the news, as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will disclose that it has formally logged license applications for as many as 30 new reactors."

Later in an article entitled "Agency Gets Ready for Nuclear Renaissance" he observes:

"Concern about global warming and the adequacy of electric generation in coming years has given nuclear power a new appeal. While some utilities maintain they will not build new plants until a long-term repository for nuclear waste is identified, others are ready to proceed...The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been gearing up to meet the challenge and has streamlined its procedures. Heading the team that will be reviewing the proposals is R. William Borchardt. His title is director of the office of new reactors."

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In an interview with EnergyBiz, the new director said that he expected that the anticipated 30new applications for nuclear power plants could be handled within three to four years. Mr. Borchardt said that on average it would take about four years to build a new plant. That means that the majority of nuclear plants in the current queue could be online by 2015.

Note that Cape Wind-- the first proposed offshore wind project in the U.S. is into its seventh year of permitting and counting. (GW)