Nuclear power still viable, not valued in U.S. electricity marketSep 25 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Stephanie Reighart York Daily Record, Pa.Representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute discussed on Tuesday the electricity market conditions confronting America's nuclear energy facilities. Richard Myers, vice president of policy development, planning and supplier programs, said the greatest threat to nuclear energy in the U.S. is the lack of value placed on inherent qualities in production. Base load reliability, clean air compliance and price stability make nuclear power a contributing energy producer, Myers said. "Electricity markets have not yet developed to value these factors," he said. York County is home to the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station and neighbors Three Mile Island. This year, four nuclear power plants have shut down across the country. A fifth is scheduled to decommission next year. At least two of those plants were victims of the electricity economy and not closed because of age or safety concerns, Myers said. The rest required considerable capital investments that the owners were unable to fund, he said. Three Mile Island Unit 2 is slated to be dismantled alongside TMI Unit 1 starting in 2044, according to the unit's post-shutdown decommissioning activities report recently filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In the future, the plants at highest risk of closing will be older, smaller units that will require investments for construction projects, Myers said. Nuclear power is not the only solution to maintaining the electricity market in the U.S., he said. But the markets need to recognize the attributes of those utilities in the system. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is hosting a conference today in Washington, D.C. on the current state of the electricity market and how it might meet future energy needs. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=30103704 |