More Nuclear power on the horizon :coold:

6SpeedTA95 · 09-20-2006, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by article

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - North Carolina or South Carolina are the likely sites for the rebirth of nuclear power plants in the United States, Duke Energy Corp. (DUK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive James Rogers said on Wednesday.

Rogers, speaking at a Bank of America investment conference in San Francisco, said in response to a question that if a new nuclear plant is built in the United States, "it will be in the South and it will be in the Carolinas."

Cherokee County in South Carolina has been identified for a possible joint venture project, Rogers said.

Duke and Southern Co. (SO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said in March they agreed to explore building a nuclear plant in the county and was developing an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a construction and operating license.

Duke also is considering plant sites in Davie County in North Carolina and Oconee County in South Carolina, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group.

The last U.S. nuclear plant to be built was the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar station in Tennessee. It received a license in 1971 but construction was halted shortly after when TVA did not need the power. It finally began generating power in 1996.

The federal government has offered billions of dollars in incentives to jump-start investment in new nuclear power reactors, creating a race for cash among potential builders.

There are growing plans in the energy industry to build new nuclear plants to meet rising demand for electricity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from plants running on coal or natural gas.

Energy companies are preparing licenses to build as many as 30 new nuclear reactors, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Rogers said Duke is working with Westinghouse Electric Co. for a standardized plant design, and also must navigate through regulatory hurdles.

Duke made a filing with North Carolina utility regulators on Wednesday seeking permission to recover project development costs "in the event we decide not to complete the plant," Rogers said. He said that is "a very important hurdle."

Rogers also said Duke will not build a nuclear plant unless regulators approve the recovery of capital costs as the plant is being built to avoid putting the company's balance sheet at risk.

Another issue is what to do with highly radioactive used nuclear fuel. The federal government's proposed Yucca Mountain waste storage site in Nevada is stalled, he said.

Duke operates seven nuclear reactors in three power plants in the Carolinas, and Southern owns six reactors in Georgia and Alabama.

This is really REALLY good news. We need more nuclear and natural gas fired plants in this country.

Getting more natural gas and nuclear power plants online will help diminish the use of oil for heating purposes which IMO is a complete waste. We also need to get away from using oil to power our vehicles. This is a huge step in the right direction lets hope this happens and that all 30 "proposed" plants get built.

Scrum · 09-20-2006, 05:32 PM

About time.

Lets hope this spreads.

6SpeedTA95 · 09-20-2006, 05:38 PM

Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent

About time.

Lets hope this spreads.

I think it will, and Duke is one of the best most responsible energy companies in the US. They have a chance to set the bar in the world of New Nuclear power

Phantom · 09-20-2006, 05:39 PM

Doesn't much of our natural gas come from Venezeula?

WickedLou9 · 09-20-2006, 05:39 PM

I'm glad to hear it.

Scrum · 09-20-2006, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by Phantom

Doesn't much of our natural gas come from Venezeula?

I thought that was the one thing we have plenty of here?

Phantom · 09-20-2006, 05:45 PM

Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent

I thought that was the one thing we have plenty of here?

looks like you're right, I quickly checked google and we have enough here, Canada and Mexico

Venezuela has some of the greatest reserves though.

Scrum · 09-20-2006, 05:47 PM

Originally Posted by Phantom

looks like you're right, I quickly checked google and we have enough here, Canada and Mexico

Venezuela has some of the greatest reserves though.

Ahh.

I saw a Modern Marvels on it a few weeks back and I thought I remembered seeing that we had quite a bit.

6SpeedTA95 · 09-20-2006, 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by Phantom

Doesn't much of our natural gas come from Venezeula?

Umm no, some of it yes, much of it? No not really...we have a HUGE amount of natural gas here in this country.

6SpeedTA95 · 09-20-2006, 06:04 PM

Some natural gas info for you guys...
NaturalGas.org

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0872966.html

Much of these articles will state proven reserves.

US estimates alone are around 1500 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. That is a lot of gas. Also these estimates have gone up steadily over the last 30 years. So we could easily have significantly more, not to mention the vast amounts of unexplored areas in the GOM, Atlantic and Pacific basins that are probably rich with natural gas.

SpicyMcVoodoo · 09-20-2006, 06:06 PM

Where are these nuclear power plants going to go? No one wants them in their backyard.

6SpeedTA95 · 09-20-2006, 06:06 PM

The Importance of Reserve Growth to the Nation's Supply of Natural Gas--USGS Fact Sheet FS-202-96

Stylerod · 09-20-2006, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

I think it will, and Duke is one of the best most responsible energy companies in the US. They have a chance to set the bar in the world of New Nuclear power

I have stocks in Duke Energy. I wonder what this will do to them

6SpeedTA95 · 09-20-2006, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by Stylerod

I have stocks in Duke Energy. I wonder what this will do to them

Duke is a great company, I work with them on a regular basis. Good business plan, great at what they do, they train their employees well and they're environmentally conscious of the world around them.

Donkey® · 09-20-2006, 10:03 PM

So why can't Iran do the same thing?

WickedLou9 · 09-20-2006, 10:43 PM

Originally Posted by Donkey®

So why can't Iran do the same thing?

THey can. But they don't need the sort of centrifuges that they have built to make nuclear power.
We also offered them a very good offer where as they could get the uranium from some other country at a lower cost than they could make it themselves and they turned it down.

Donkey® · 09-20-2006, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by WickedLou9

THey can. But they don't need the sort of centrifuges that they have built to make nuclear power.
We also offered them a very good offer where as they could get the uranium from some other country at a lower cost than they could make it themselves and they turned it down.

Invalid argument.

6SpeedTA95 · 09-20-2006, 11:14 PM

Originally Posted by Donkey®

Invalid argument.

And this thread isn't about Iran.

Donkey® · 09-20-2006, 11:48 PM

It's about nuclear power...

6SpeedTA95 · 09-20-2006, 11:57 PM

Originally Posted by Donkey®

It's about nuclear power...

It's clearly about nuclear power in the US and US energy policy, NOT iran, if you want a thread on Iran and Nuclear energy get your own, dont hijack mine.