Rising oil prices and fears about global warming are driving a comeback in nuclear power, according to a recent Copley News Service article by Dana Wilkie. Nestled in the energy bill that Congress approved last week is perhaps the most tangible evidence yet that nuclear power, long shunned by many as a dangerous energy source, is on the verge of a comeback, according to the article.
The broad energy plan includes billions of federal dollars to jump-start production of nuclear reactors. The incentives, from tax breaks to loan guarantees, come at a time when soaring oil prices and increasing public concern about global warming have forced even some leading environmentalists to rethink their opposition to nuclear power as a cleaner, cheaper alternative to traditional fossil fuels . . . .
Should the government incentives prove enticing, the nation's utilities are poised to order their first reactors since the 1970s.
. . . . But the federal incentives spell trouble to watchdogs. They fear that the bill doesn't do enough to promote other alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, and that more reactors will mean more potential targets for terrorists and more nuclear waste piling up at power plants.
. . . . There are 103 operating reactors in the nation, including two in California at San Onofre and Diablo Canyon near San Luis Obispo. But all were ordered before the 1979 partial reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island, Pa., and the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine, both of which led to widespread fears about nuclear power and a hiatus in reactor construction.
The broad energy plan includes billions of federal dollars to jump-start production of nuclear reactors. The incentives, from tax breaks to loan guarantees, come at a time when soaring oil prices and increasing public concern about global warming have forced even some leading environmentalists to rethink their opposition to nuclear power as a cleaner, cheaper alternative to traditional fossil fuels . . . .
Should the government incentives prove enticing, the nation's utilities are poised to order their first reactors since the 1970s.
. . . . But the federal incentives spell trouble to watchdogs. They fear that the bill doesn't do enough to promote other alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, and that more reactors will mean more potential targets for terrorists and more nuclear waste piling up at power plants.
. . . . There are 103 operating reactors in the nation, including two in California at San Onofre and Diablo Canyon near San Luis Obispo. But all were ordered before the 1979 partial reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island, Pa., and the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine, both of which led to widespread fears about nuclear power and a hiatus in reactor construction.
