Nation's Biggest Nuclear Firm Makes a Play For Carbon Credit Cash

tomhath writes with this story that may shake up the nuclear industry. "The biggest player in the beleaguered nuclear power industry wants a place alongside solar, wind and hydroelectric power collecting extra money for producing carbon-free electricity. Exelon Corp., operator of the largest fleet of U.S. nuclear plants, says it could have to close three of them if Illinois rejects the company's pitch to let it recoup more from consumers since the plants do not produce greenhouse gases. Exelon and other around-the-clock plants sometimes take losses when wind turbines produce too much electricity for the system. Under the system, electric suppliers would have to buy credits from carbon-free energy producers. Exelon says the plan would benefit nuclear plants, hydroelectric dams, and other solar and wind projects."

Comments

Re:And why not?

[CrimsonAvenger]

Safe until it kills millions when a plant blows up.

Unlike, say, coal, which kills millions under normal operations, right?

Or didn't you know that routine coal-mining fatalities are a couple of orders of magnitude more numerous than all fatalities associated with nuclear power? Hell, coal mining fatalities in the 20th century in the USA ALONE were comparable to the death-toll from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

And then there's the rest of the world's coal mining casualties, plus secondary effects from the pollution.

And never mind that nuclear plants don't "blow up". Unless you fill them up with TNT and set it off, of course.