"Nuclear industry suffers major defeat in Iowa"

"Burning Money" image by Gene Case, Avenging AngelsFriends of the Earth (FOE) reports that the Iowa State Legislature has ended its session without approving "Construction Work in Progress" (CWIP), a gimmick by which nuclear utilities can charge ratepayers on their electricity bill for the construction of atomic reactors, even if they never recieve one watt of electricity from their involuntary "investment." The victory is thanks to the efforts of an environmental coalition, including FOE as well as grassroots groups such as Green State Solutions. The grassroots environmental victory comes despite intense lobbying efforts by Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy, which hoped to foist the construction costs for its proposed "dirty, dangerous, and expensive" atomic reactor onto the ratepayers of Iowa, despite 3/4ths of Iowans opposing the plan.

If successful, the nuclear industry's bid to add "Small Modular Reactors" to the Great Plains of Iowa would add to the radiological risks. GE BWR Mark Is -- identical to Fukushima Daiichi's Units 1-4 -- already operate at Duane Arnold in IA, as well as Cooper, NE just to the west and Quad Cities, IL just to the east.