While nuclear energy is being touted as a possible savior for global warming, an updated MIT study says the technology hasn't progressed and is still too expensive.
"In 2003, MIT argued that nuclear power could play an important role in U.S. electricity generation, and that government help was needed to jumpstart a U.S. revival. That has yet to happen yet, the revised study notes.
Many of the challenges facing nuclear power are the same. Take economics. Building nuclear plants is still a lot more expensive than building coal- or gas-fired plants, and nuclear-generated electricity is still more expensive than either fossil-fuel option: 8.8 cents a kilowatt for nuclear versus 6.2 cents for coal and 6.5 cents for gas, MIT figures."
"An even bigger economic hurdle: lenders typically charge more to finance a nuclear plant than, say, a combined-cycle gas-fired power plant. That's because nuclear plants have a history of running behind schedule and facing cost overruns."
FULL STORY: Nuclear Revival: Still On Hold, MIT Study Says
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