The reality of nuclear energy is inconsistent with dreams of a renaissance

In summary, the hard facts about nuclear energy are inconsistent with the possibility of a worldwide renaissance of nuclear energy. Indeed, they point toward a continuing slow phase-out of nuclear energy in most of the large OECD countries. guardian.co.uk.

Proposed Calvert Cliffs reactor looks shaky

Electricite de France, the French national utility that holds a 50% share in Unistar in the U.S. along with Constellation Energy, saw its net income plummet 47% this past week. The EDF-Constellation partnership is slated to build an EPR reactor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear site in Maryland - conditional upon federal loan guarantees. But according to a Bloomberg story, EDF "took a provision of 1.1 billion euros (1.44 billion euros) related to its holding in Constellation Energy Group Inc. due to the “less favorable” outlook for power prices for existing power generators and a planned new nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs."  EDF is already under scrutiny in France because its EPR construction site at Flamanville is over-budget and has fallen more than two years behind schedule.

South Texas reactor project puts on the brakes

"NRG Energy, one of the City of San Antonio’s partners at the South Texas Project nuclear facility in Matagorda County, announced today it will idle payments into a planned two-reactor nuclear expansion on the Texas coast," writes Greg Harman this week in the San Antonio Current. The NRF-Toshiba project which would add two reactors to the South Texas nuclear site, is dependent on federal loan guarantees - a burden likely to fall to taxpayers. But the loan guarantees have so far failed to materialize causing this latest retreat from the nuclear energy frontier.