NUCLEARE. Si parte.

[Zdenek]

come mai in america è da 20 anni che non si costruisce più una centrale nucleare?

Hai ragione. Nessun IMPIANTO nuovo.
Riporto qui quanto indicato anche nella prima pagina del thread; si possono trarre un po' di conclusioni, come il necessario intervento dello Stato.

New Wave of Nuclear Plants Faces High Costs

By REBECCA SMITH
May 12, 2008; Page B1

A new generation of nuclear power plants is on the drawing boards in the U.S., but the projected cost is causing some sticker shock: $5 billion to $12 billion a plant, double to quadruple earlier rough estimates.


Nuclear power is regaining favor as an alternative to other sources of power generation, such as coal-fired plants, which have fallen out of favor because they are major polluters. But the high cost could lead to sharply higher electricity bills for consumers and inevitably reignite debate about the nuclear industry's suitability to meet growing energy needs.
Nuclear plants haven't been built in meaningful numbers in the U.S. since the 1980s. Part of the cost escalation is bad luck. Plants are being proposed in a period of skyrocketing costs for commodities such as cement, steel and copper; amid a growing shortage of skilled labor; and against the backdrop of a shrunken supplier network for the industry.
The price escalation is sobering because the industry and regulators have worked hard to make development more efficient, in hopes of eliminating problems that in the past produced harrowing cost overruns. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, for example, has created a streamlined licensing process to make timelier, more comprehensive decisions about proposals. Nuclear vendors have developed standardized designs for plants to reduce construction and operating costs. And utility executives, with years of operating experience behind them, are more astute buyers.


Now, 104 nuclear reactors are operating in the U.S. Most are highly profitable but that was not the case until fairly recently. For the 75 units built between 1966 and 1986, the average cost was $3 billion or triple early estimates, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Many plants operate profitably now because they were sold to current operators for less than their actual cost.
The latest projections follow months of tough negotiations between utility companies and key suppliers, and suggest efforts to control costs are proving elusive. Estimates released in recent weeks by experienced nuclear operators -- NRG Energy Inc., Progress Energy Inc., Exelon Corp., Southern Co. and FPL Group Inc. -- "have blown by our highest estimate" of costs computed just eight months ago, said Jim Hempstead, a senior credit officer at Moody's Investors Service credit-rating agency in New York.
Moody's worries that continued cost increases, even if partially offset by billions of dollars worth of federal subsidies, could weaken companies and expose consumers to high energy costs.
On May 7, Georgia Power Co., a unit of Atlanta-based Southern, said it expects to spend $6.4 billion for a 45.7% interest in two new reactors proposed for the Vogtle nuclear plant site near Augusta, Ga. Utility officials declined to disclose total costs. A typical Georgia Power household could expect to see its power bill go up by $144 annually to pay for the plants after 2018, the utility said.
Bill Edge, spokesman for the Georgia Public Service Commission, said Georgia "will look at what's best for ratepayers" and could pull support if costs balloon to frightening heights. The existing Vogtle plant, put into service in the late 1980s, cost more than 10 times its original estimate, roughly $4.5 billion for each of two reactors.
FPL Group, Juno Beach, Fla., estimates it will cost $6 billion to $9 billion to build each of two reactors at its Turkey Point nuclear site in southeast Florida. It has picked a reactor design by Westinghouse Electric Co., a unit of Toshiba Corp., after concluding it could cost as much as $12 billion to build plants with reactors designed by General Electric Co. The joint venture GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy said it hasn't seen FPL's calculations but is confident its units "are cost-competitive compared with other nuclear designs."
Exelon, the nation's biggest nuclear operator, is considering building two reactors on an undeveloped site in Texas, and said the cost could be $5 billion to $6.5 billion each. The plants would be operated as "merchant" plants and thus would not have utility customers on the hook to pay for them, as is the case in both Florida and Georgia. Instead, they would have to cover expenses through wholesale power sales.
Several things could derail new development plans. Excessive cost is one. A second is the development of rival technologies that could again make nuclear plants look like white elephants. A drop in prices for coal and natural gas, now very expensive, also could make nuclear plants less attractive. On the other hand, if Congress decides to tax greenhouse-gas emissions, that could make electricity from nuclear plants more attractive by raising costs for generators that burn fossil fuels. Nuclear plants wouldn't have to pay the charges because they aren't emitters.
Some states are clearing a path for nuclear-power development, even before costs are fully known. They are inspired by a growing fear of climate change. "The overwhelming feeling in Florida is that nuclear power is popular and that's why it's going to go ahead," said J.R. Kelly, head of the Office of Public Counsel in Tallahassee, which represents consumers. "Our main concern is the tremendous cost."
In Florida, state officials are allowing utilities to collect money from customers to cover development and construction costs. In the past, regulators typically required utilities to bear the costs until plants were finished.
Many utilities said they are watching with interest. Ralph Izzo, chief executive of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. in New Jersey, said his company may not be big enough to build a nuclear plant, even though it is a nuclear operator. "We're concerned by the rise in construction costs," he said.
============
• The News: Estimated costs to build the next generation of nuclear power plants have soared to $5 billion to $12 billion a plant.
• The Debate: Questions are emerging over the affordability of nuclear power, despite its popularity as an alternative to polluting coal-fired plants.
• What to Watch: If Congress taxes greenhouse-gas emissions, nuclear plants, which aren't emitters, will become more attractive. But if coal and natural-gas prices decline, nuclear-plant economics will get worse.

[Ronnie]

Hai ragione. Nessun IMPIANTO nuovo.

Changes of NPP status during 2007 (as of 31 December 2007)

Restarts after a long term shutdown:

• Browns Ferry 1, (1065 MW(e), PWR, USA) returned to the grid on 2 June after achieving criticality May 22

Construction reactivation:

• Watts Bar 2 (1165 MW(e), PWR, USA) - construction was resumed on 15 October

hanno riparato e riacceso una vecchia centrale che era spenta e hanno ripreso la costruzione di una centrale interrotta (una Montalto)

ribadisco comunque, ne hanno fatte 27

[Boba Fett]

Ma sarà meglio avere meno centrali e sfruttarle di più, no?
Rispetto al '78 la produzione (che è quello che conta realmente) è quasi triplicata, infatti è migliorato tantissimo il capacity factor delle centrali (vedere il post di Ronnie precedente), che è arrivato al 90%, indice di affidabilità e ottimo sfruttamento dell'installato.

[Zdenek]

come mai in america è da 20 anni che non si costruisce più una centrale nucleare?

E non far caso a strani discorsi di gente incompetente.
Sarebbero capaci di spiegarti che negli USA è importante sfruttare meglio gli impianti già esistenti, in Europa, invece, bisogna attrezzarsi ognuno per conto proprio.

Perché, così, ci fanno lo sconto "compri tre paghi due".
Forse ci regalano anche una bambolina.

[Ronnie]

precisazione negli US hanno anche addizionato potenza in centrali già esistenti, non solo
migliorato l'efficienza.. del resto anche in italia aumentammo la potenza di trino, per esempio

[libpensatore]

c'è nucleare è nucleare, bisogna vedere cosa voglioni fare di preciso, per adesso solo chiacchiere, certo che se è come quello che diceva che le bollette scenderanno del 20%, io le centrali nucleari non le voglio..

[RandallFlagg]

Quoto. Che il nucleare e i ponti li facciano i privati, se hanno soldi e voglia di farlo, non lo Stato.

I privati fanno cose che garantiscono un ritorno in termini economici.

Per questo dal nucleare si tengono ben lontani

[Grifo]

Il cancelliere tedesco Angela Merkel ha elogiato l'Italia per la decisione di costruire nuove centrali nucleari, ed ha annunciato che anche la Germania ne costruirà di nuove.

Si torna in europa ragazzi, non siamo più il malato dei paesi avanzati!

"... e risalgono, in disordine e senza speranza, le valli che avevano disceso con orgogliosa sicurezza"

F.to Grifo



Lo staff del CNEN nel '62, mio padre e qua in mezzo.
Al centro il direttore Prof. Salvini

[Ronnie]

evvai!!!

NUCLEARE: C’E’ SINTONIA FRA BERLUSCONI E LA MERKEL 23/05/2008
23 Mag. - L'intenzione dell'Italia di tornare a produrre energia nucleare ha vasta eco sui media tedeschi, anche perche' coincide con la notizia di aspre divergenze tra la cancelliera democristiana Angela Merkel e il suo ministro dell'Ambiente, il socialdemocratico Sigmar Gabriel, sui tempi di chiusura della centrale atomica di Neckarwestheim nella regione di Stoccarda, sud del paese.
"Il record del prezzo del petrolio spinge l'Italia a tornare all'energia atomica", e' il titolo a tutta pagina pubblicato oggi dal Die Welt. "Il ministro Claudio Scajola, uno dei piu' stretti collaboratori di Silvio Berlusconi, ha annunciato la costruzione di cinque nuove centrali nucleari in Italia nell'arco dei prossimi cinque anni - scrive il quotidiano berlinese -. L'Italia era uscita dal nucleare vent'anni fa dopo la catastrofe di Chernobyl e copre il suo fabbisogno energetico prevalentemente con importazioni di gas e di petrolio". La svolta in Italia prefigura uno sviluppo analogo in Germania se Angela Merkel riuscisse a formare un governo solo con i liberali dell'Fdp dopo le prossime elezioni politiche in calendario nel settembre del 2009.

Fin da ora, tuttavia, il provvedimento annunciato dal ministro Scajola fa trasparire una sintonia fra Silvio Berlusconi e Angela Merkel sull'opportunita' di rimettere in discussione la rinuncia alla produzione nazionale di energia atomica. La centrale di Neckarwestheim e' uno dei diciassette impianti tedeschi da chiudere entro il 2023 in base alla legge per l'uscita dal nucleare deliberata dal governo rosso-verde di Gerhard Schröder e Joschka Fischer nel 1999 quando il barile di petrolio costava dieci dollari. La disattivazione delle centrali di Neckarwestheim e di Brunsbüttel e' prevista per il 2009. Il decreto del ministro Gabriel sarebbe ormai pronto per la firma, ma la delibera e' ostacolata dalla richiesta della cancelliera di prolungare l'attivita' della centrale per altri otto anni. L'iniziativa della Merkel e' appoggiata dal ministro dell'Economia, il cristiano-sociale Michael Glos e, per dirla con Die Welt, rivela "il profondo dissenso all'interno del governo federale sul ruolo futuro dell'energia nucleare in Germania". (Velino)

[Ronnie]

questa signora, faccio presente, è laureata in Fisica ed è in vetta al consenso in germania. Se spacca stravince.