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Economy Puts US Nuclear Reactors Back In Doubt
eldavojohn writes "Remember those 30 new nuclear reactors the US was slated to build? Those plans have been halted. A few years ago, it seemed like a really good idea to build a bunch of nuclear reactors. The environmental impacts of other energy production methods were becoming well known and the economy was tanking. Well, natural gas is now much cheaper, and as a result it looks like building a single nuclear reactor in Maryland is such a risky venture that Constellation can't reach an agreement with the federal government for the loans it needs to build that reactor. The government wants Constellation to sign an agreement with a local energy provider to ensure they'll recoup at least some of the money on the loan, but Constellation doesn't like the terms. So, the first of those thirty reactors has officially stalled, with no resolution in sight. It looks like it'd take an economic meltdown to trigger nuclear reactor production in the US."
Ausra has the best method for capital solar production using troughs, it got bought out by Areva the leading nuclear company. A sample reactor is already under construction in Jordan called JOAN1 for 100mw. Soon we can cheaply take advantage of all the sun in the South West US using this effecient technology; just waiting for Areva to step up. the transmission of this power (what about hydrogen?) is a complicated story altogether. in the EU, Desertec is planning a hydrogen pipe (solar to hydrogen) for energy transfer...