Friday, October 19, 2007

Federal incentives mean more nuclear plants in rural areas, especially in the South

As a result of incentives passed by Congress in 2005, the drought in construction of nuclear power plants should be ending soon -- and most of those new plants will be appearing in rural areas. No new reactor has opened in the United States since 1996, but concerns about global warming prompted the incentives and thus the jump in construction plans, reports the Daily Yonder.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has 21 applicants for 32 new reactors, many in the South. It usually takes about 15 years to go from application to an active plant, and some companies are even reopening closed reactors, the Daily Yonder writes. "Reactor sites long ago abandoned are being spiffed up and are headed for full production. The Tennessee Valley Authority, which in 1985 closed its Browns Ferry plant in northern Alabama, will spend $1.8 billion to restart the reactor. Duke Energy left a partially constructed reactor in Cherokee County, South Carolina, two decades ago, but is now coming back."

To see a full list of the applications and the proposed reactor sites, go here.

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