Cost of capital fallout

17 June 2009 By Martin Hutchinson

Atomic energy is the best US hope for reducing carbon emissions by 2030. But new plants call for heavy capital investment. To encourage that, the Energy Department s $18.5bn in funding guarantees make sense. Global warming worriers should also hope real interest rates stay low.

This content is for Subscribers only

Context News

Four utilities, UniStar Nuclear Energy, NRG Energy, Scana Corporation and Southern Company, have been chosen to share $18.5bn in loan guarantees from the Energy Department for the construction of nuclear power plants, according to news reports. The guarantees would enable the companies to begin constructing the plants in 2011, for completion in 2015 or 2016.

Nuclear power represented 21% of US electricity generation in the first quarter of 2009. Summer electric power generation capacity in 2007 was 995GW, up 0.9% on the previous year. Planned additions to capacity total 21GW in 2009, 14GW in 2010, 12GW in 2011 and 17GW in 2012. The current AP1000 Westinghouse nuclear reactor has a capacity of 1.15GW and is estimated to have an allin capital cost of around $7bn.

Email a friend

Please complete the form below.

Required fields *