I have heard Amory Lovins repeat the following statement at least three separate times. I believe that I have missed a few repetitions.
Nuclear costs too much and it has excessive financial risk. In no new nuclear project around the world is there a penny of private capital at risk.
(Source – http://a4nr.org/news-and-events/10.22.2006-torontostar)
As mentioned a couple of days ago, I had the opportunity to challenge him directly on this comment, since Adams Atomic Engines, Inc. is a private company that is spending a significant amount of private equity resources on developing new nuclear power plants.
I have also provided some information about Amarillo Power and Alternative Energy Holdings, Inc. in previous posts. They are both companies backed by private investors that have publicly declared the start of their efforts to build new nuclear power plants.
The private capital interest in new nuclear power has grown in the past couple of days with the announcement by Fresno Nuclear Energy Group, LLC that they are working toward the long term goal of building a new nuclear power plant in the Central Valley of CALIFORNIA!. Check out the local news announcement video titled Fresno Considering Nuclear Power Plant.
That’s right. Even in the land of the fruits and nuts – which has a law currently on the books prohibiting new nuclear power plant construction until after the federal government has a permanent solution for nuclear waste – there are private businessmen with the ability to do financial projections that appear quite interested in pursuing the long and admittedly difficult journey of building a new nuclear power plant.
Of course, in the energy business, there are few quick bucks available and few ways to reliably deliver significant quantities of the desired product without a long and expensive infrastructure construction process. It can take a decade or more to build a new natural gas or oil pipeline or to develop a new petroleum field, especially if located in deep water or in a remote area.
PS – I thought I was getting a scoop on the rest of the pro-nuclear bloggers, but I should have known that Eric McErlain at NEI Nuclear Notes was up on the news – you can find his post dated 14 December at Fresno Nuclear Energy Group Announces Kickoff Plans.
