NEI Cooper study biased
Analyses show nuclear is 'least cost option' for generation of new
baseload electricity
NucNet - analyses in several US states show that new reactor units will
be the least cost option for new generation, the Nuclear Energy
Institute (NEI) said this week in response to a study The Economics of
Nuclear Power: Renaissance or Relapse? by Mark Cooper, who is
identified as a senior fellow for economic analysis with the Institute
for Energy and Environment at the Vermont Law School.
NEI - Vermont Law study is biased
The nuclear industry trade group couched its response in measured
phrases, but the real message is, more or less, Cooper is blowing
smoke.
Among claims arising from the20study, published earlier this month, was
that actual cost estimates for proposed reactors is some four times
higher than industry projections from less than 10 years ago.
However, the NEI said the study presented a biased view of the
overall picture in the US. In a detailed response, the NEI said:
Based on studies by the energy companies contemplating building new
reactors and independent analyses, new nuclear power plants are
expected to produce electricity at competitive prices. New nuclear
plants in some markets may be one of the most cost-effective ways of
generating electricity in a carbon-constrained world.
Contrary to the study s finding that nuclear power cannot stand on
its own two feet in the marketplace , nuclear energy is expected to be
among the most economic sources of electricity New nuclear reactors
have been affirmed as the least cost option for new generation by the
Public Service Commission (PSC) in South Carolina, Florida, and
Georgia.
The analyses supporting the PSC reviews found nuclear to be cost
competitive with other forms of baseload generation in addition to
helping to address climate change.
NEI White Paper on nuclear plant costs
A paper by the NEI, which provides a survey of cost information for new
nuclear and coal-based generating capacity and summarizes recent
analyses of the comparative economics of new electric g
enerating
capacity is on the NEI s website
The study by Cooper is on the web site of the Institute for Energy and
the Environment at Vermont Law School. In fact Mr. Cooper s
relationship with the law school may be tenuous according to Charles
Barton at NuclearGreen.
Here s his real bio - Mark Cooper is director of research at the
Consumer Federation of America (CFA) where he has responsibility for
energy, telecommunications, and economic policy analysis. The rest of
his bio reveals a sterling educational pedigree, but as previously
noted on this blog, even smart guys can be wrong.
Where there s smoke there s fire
BTW, in another case where smart guys are wrong, at least about nuclear
physics, Ralph Nadar, who helped organized CFA, has been outspoken in
his opposition to smoke detectors which use tiny amounts of Americium
241. Encased in plastic, the alpha emitter poses no risk to anyone
unless you break the thing open with a hammer and try to eat it. The
World Nuclear Association has the real 411 on the safe use of this
isotope.
Mr. Cooper s study has been called biased by NEI, but in the case of
Ralph Nader and smoke detectors, the American Nuclear Society (ANS)
makes it clear why they recommend use of the Americium 241 model. Here
are the facts.
The ionization smoke detector uses a tiny bit of radioactive
americium-241, a source of
alpha radiation. An air-filled space between
two electrodes creates a chamber that permits a small, constant current
to flow between the electrodes. If smoke or heat enters the chamber,
the electric current between the electrodes is interrupted and the
alarm is triggered.
This smoke alarm is less expensive than other designs and improves the
original smoke alarm by measuring more than the heat of a fire. It can
detect particles of smoke too small to be visible.
Finally, hats off to the Idaho Section of the American Nuclear Society
which each year gives away hundreds of smoke detectors to families in
Idaho which otherwise could not afford them.
# # #
Idaho Samizdat ~ http://djysrv.blogspot.com