The Case Against Nuclear

Nuclear power, we’re told, is experiencing a dramatic worldwide revival and vibrant growth, because it’s competitive, necessary, reliable, secure, and vital for energy security and climate protection.

There’s a catch, though, says RMI cofounder and Chief Scientist Amory Lovins: The private capital market isn’t investing in new nuclear plants, and without financing, capitalist utilities aren’t buying. The few purchases, nearly all in Asia, are all made by central planners with a draw on the public purse. In the United States, even government subsidies approaching or exceeding new nuclear power’s total cost have failed to entice Wall Street.

Lovins highlights four problems with nuclear that keep it from competing against cheaper, swifter rivals such as cogeneration, wind and energy efficiency:

Cost: Nuclear plants are very expensive to build, and getting more so. Worldwide, construction costs have risen much faster for nuclear plants than non-nuclear plants.

Carbon: Because new nuclear power costs far more than its competitors, it buys far less energy per dollar, and therefore displaces far less coal energy per dollar than other sources of power.

Reliability: When nuclear plants go offline, they fail in billion-watt chunks and take a long time to restart.

Security: Proliferation is greatly facilitated by nuclear power’s flow of materials, equipment, skills, and knowledge, all hidden behind an innocent-looking civilian disguise.

On all these fronts, Lovins says small, distributed energy sources are better buys than nuclear. To learn how, check out the links below:

‘The Nuclear Illusion’ -- a study by RMI Cofounder and Chief Scientist Amory Lovins and Imran Sheikh.

Missing the Market Meltdown - Lovins' Newsweek article on nuclear power's lack of bankability.