Dan Yurman, with links to similar important articles by Cheryl Rofer and Mark Hibbs: There is a strong likelihood that future plans by U.S. electric utilities to build full size nuclear reactors are now being put on indefinite hold. The reasons are already well known. Record low prices for natural gas are likely to persist for decades. The regulatory barriers to building new natural gas plants are surmounted with ease compared to gaining approval for a new reactor. In the middle of this glum outlook comes Mark Hibbs, a world class expert on the nuclear energy field, who is currently associated with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In a new report about whether the nuclear energy industry has a future, he offers a qualified “maybe.”
