[Marxism] Nuclear Power, again...

[dwalters@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

I just received this months Platts "POWER" magazine, one of the energy
industries leading magazines.

There is a short editorial here:
<http://www.platts.com/Magazines/POWER/2005/december/200C5RZr1C208165005IBQ_1.xml>

on nuclear power but it's a lead in to a longer article that details to aspects
of this industry.

One is the technicalogical/safety/'cost' side. It details the 3 decades long
developent of new kinds of cheaper, safer (they claim) nuclear power plants
called "3rd Generation" plants. The article makes a strong case for their
safety and cost, and is honest, amazingly, about the cost of nuclear power with
the tax subsidy they receive [1.8 cents a kwh which is more than wind power
subsidized at 1.2 cents a kwh]. The capital costs to build these plants range
from USD$1600 a kWh(!!!) TO USD $2000 a kWh. These plants capacities run from
1000 to 1600 MEGAwatts. At the high end @ $2000/kilowatt hour, for a large
plant, that's at least USD $3.2 billion a pop. [Comparable gas turbine or coal
fire plants are about 1/3 this amount to build].

The other part of the article are the plans, on the books and getting ready to
be approved with little opposition, it seems, are 24 of these suckers being
proposed around the US today.

Stimulated by discussion here on this list over the last few years, I've started
to reevaluate my own, "SWP Orthodox Anti-Nuke" position that I've held for many
years. It even hardened as I got to know the industry from the inside over the
last two decades. Now, I'm not so sure any more.

[Interestngly, the old SWP has done a complete 180 degree reversal and now
support nukes]. I started reading some of their arguments. To be honest, they
make a good case. The safety record *after* 3 Mile Island has been outstanding.
The European nuke industry is even better and the dangerous Russian style plants
are being phased out.

The new plants produce less waste, the main issue these days, and refueling is
cheaper and safer. This is after 30 years of records, scrutiny, etc. I have
major concerns about waste and, things like earth quakesm, but less about the
actual process...that is, 3 mile island/Chernobyl style meltdowns.

All these newer plants have non-mechanical trips...loose power on a pump, and
the whole reaction stops. If anything breaks, the whole reaction stops. Lose
water in the reactor core(s), the whole reaction stops. And so on.

The problem, of course, is that there are no plants built in the US like this.
There are only two being built in the world, one in France, one in Finland.

Unlike our current plants that supply 25% of the US power grid, these newer
plants are designed to run for 60 years. Our current plants were designed for
20 to 30 years and everyone gets an almost automatic re-commissioning OK from
the NRC. So, this remains a "clear and present" danger even if the risks, now,
appear minimal.

I think we should have a long term discussion on a Marxist/Working class
persepctive(s) toward energy in general and the new nukes now being proposed
specifically.

David



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