Nuclear Power Critics Taking Long View

RALEIGH, N.C. – With guaranteed federal loans and insurance protection promised to the first power companies to build a new wave of nuclear plants, the race is on for construction of up to 10 stations between Maryland and Mississippi.

At least two utilities plan to announce their intended sites within a few weeks. And some communities appear enthusiastic about luring the jobs and tax dollars the plants would bring. One South Carolina county looking to land a proposed Duke Energy Corp. plant has even offered a 50 percent break on property taxes.
But even with the nuclear power industry in an apparent resurgence in the fast-growing Southeast, one traditional participant in the debate over nuclear power has remained largely silent. Environmentalists, mostly mum so far about the potential dangers and pitfalls associated with this proposed round of reactors, say they’re just taking a long view.

“The nuclear industry has tried to revitalize itself a number of times in the past,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in Atlanta. “Just because the political climate is favorable for the next couple of years, these things take 10 years to build and the climate may not be favorable then.”

Mexico Ledger