Coming Full Circle in Energy, to Nuclear

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Eduardo Porter, Coming Full Circle in Energy, to Nuclear. New York Times, Aug 21, 2013.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/2 ... wanted=all&_r=0

Quote:

"In April 1977, President Jimmy Carter called Americans to arms, urging a vast increase in coal production to 'protect ourselves from uncertain supplies' of oil. * * * Since then, coal production west of the Mississippi has multiplied by four times, to about 640 million tons a year.

"Today renewable energy supplies only about 6 percent of American demand. And most of that comes from water flowing through dams. Solar energy contributes next to nothing.

"An analysis of power generation in 21 countries by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Energy Agency * * * projected that the typical nuclear generator in North America could produce power at $50 to $75 per megawatt/hour, depending on assumptions about construction costs and interest rates, against $70 to $80 for coal-fueled power. Wind-powered electricity would cost from $60 to $90, but there are limits to how much it can be scaled up. A megawatt/hour of solar power still costs in the hundreds.

"Public opinion around the world has become vehemently against nuclear energy after the tsunami damage to the power reactor in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011. Germany, one of the most committed nations in the combat against climate change, has turned its back on nuclear power and, intentionally or not, increased its dependence on carbon-heavy coal. China, the world’s fastest-growing energy hog, is building reactors at speed, but it is building coal-fired power plants even faster.


Note:
(a) North Antelope Rochelle Mine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Antelope_Rochelle_Mine
(Peabody Energy opened the North Antelope mine in the heart of Wyoming's Powder River Basin in 1983. The Rochelle mine was opened in 1984. They were combined in 1999, making the largest coal mine in the United States; The Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana is the largest low-sulfur coal source in the nation)
(b) Rochelle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochelle
(Rochelle is a French name derived from rocher, which means "rock")