New Nukes

The March 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, will not be forgotten any time soon; this is why a February 9th BBC article entitled "First nuclear reactors since 1970s approved in US" caught my attention. The article says that earlier today the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted in a 4-1 decision to allow the construction of several reactors (costing $14 billion) to be built on American soil. Interestingly, these are the first reactors approved for construction by the NRC since the year before a 1979 reactor accident in Pennsylvania. However, as the article explains, this approval is really a test for nuclear power companies. Characteristically, nuclear power plant construction has not been very efficient and has experienced large and costly delays. Thus, with the help of $8.3 billion from the Obama administration, nuclear power companies will attempt to prove their worth to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as well as to the American people.

As a whole, the article is brief, to the point, and informative--it is definitely worth looking into. However, the events of Fukushima will put a damper on any advances nuclear power will make.