Nearly 30 new US nuclear plants planned, official says

Nuclear News

Sep 19, 2006, 0:30 GMT

Washington - US utilities plan to build nearly 30 new nuclear power plants over the next decade, and the first firm announcement is likely by early 2008, a US official said Monday. President George W Bush is pushing nuclear power as a major alternative to US dependence on imported oil, part of a global rebound for the technology since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. In addition to new plants, half of existing US electricity reactors are expected to have their licences renewed for 20 years, US Senator Pete Domenici told a hearing in Washington. 'US utilities are developing the detailed plans to build a new generation of nuclear power plants,' US Assistant Secretary of Energy Dennis Spurgeon told the Senate hearing, which is considering funding for US government civilian nuclear energy programmes. 'Almost 30 new nuclear power plants are in the planning process for construction beginning over the next decade,' Spurgeon said. Overall, 130 nuclear power plants are under construction or planned around the world, including in China, India and Russia, Spurgeon said. Experts told the hearing that the US should move ahead with plans for a national nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in the western state of Nevada to replace storage sites for spent nuclear fuel currently scattered around the country. The underground storage site, under discussion since the late 1970s, is slated to open in 2017 at the earliest. Bush has sought to speed progress on Yucca Mountain. He also has authorized research into new nuclear reprocessing technologies. The United States abandoned reprocessing of nuclear fuel in the 1970s because it produces material that could be used in nuclear weapons. But scientists believe new technologies could allow reprocessing of nuclear waste without producing plutonium. Spurgeon said the US Energy Department has put out feelers to US and foreign companies that offer nuclear fuel recycling technology and was 'very encouraged' by the initial response. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

View blog reactions

If you liked this story please support M&C and Buzz the site on Yahoo.

Latest Headlines in Nuclear

Talkback

There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)

Latest from M&C Blogs

Obama: the gloves come off in Denver - Global Eye on August 29, 2008 6:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Biden: good choice or admission of Obama's weakness? - Global Eye on August 25, 2008 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

Are political campaigns wasting their money on undecided voters? - Global Eye on August 22, 2008 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

Upside-down House - The World in Pictures on August 4, 2008 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Church of our Lady in Dresden, Germany - The World in Pictures on August 4, 2008 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Giant Orange - The World in Pictures on July 15, 2008 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

Nuclear

Nearly 30 new US nuclear plants planned, official says

Nuclear News

Latest Headlines in Nuclear

Talkback

Latest from M&C Blogs

Similar articles

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print