New investment in nuclear power is risky: study - Yahoo! News: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Energy conservation and renewable energy such as wind power would be a better investment for U.S. taxpayers than subsidies for new nuclear plants, according to a study released on Thursday by several environmental, health and public interest organizations.
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The organizations, including Friends of the Earth, GRACE Policy Institute and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, pointed to several problems that have plagued the industry, including higher-than-expected construction costs, terrorist threats and the unresolved issue of how to safely store spent radioactive fuel.
The $1.5 billion to $2 billion estimates of what it will cost to build the next generation of power reactors are 'extremely optimistic and unlikely to be achieved' despite federal subsidies, the organizations said.
'Nuclear construction cost estimates have been notoriously inaccurate,' the organizations said, noting actual costs for some operating nuclear reactors were two or more times their estimate.
Rather than throw money at the nuclear industry, the environmental organizations recommended the U.S. invest more in conservation and renewable technologies, including wind power.
Steve Kerekes, a spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the industry trade group, however, said the groups opposed to nuclear power 'seem to be stuck in the past.'
Kerekes blamed past cost overruns on an unwieldy licensing process and said the industry believed a new, streamlined licensing process would reduce construction costs.
To date, nine companies have announced plans to file for licenses to build up to 20 new reactors. But none of the companies has made firm plans to build a new reactor.
ACCIDENTS AND TERRORISM
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