Wes wrote:
Larry Jaques wrote:

Due to the timing, I was wondering "Is this the Left's reply to the
skeptics' bringing out the CO2 scandals and ruining their Globular
Swarming scam?" but it appears to be real. I can't help but wonder
if they would have caught it far earlier if the Greenies hadn't
nearly forced nukes out of existence.

I have a feeling that there is a lot of pressure to keep running old
nuke plants due to the lack of new ones coming on line.

I don't know why you'd think that.
It isn't true, in any event.


Advantages of longer-term operation
The study concludes that the principal advantages of longer-term operation
are economic in that:

a.. Extending the life of a major generating asset avoids the need for
immediate investment in new generating capacity.
b.. The capital costs of plant life management for LTO will be much
smaller than investment in any type of replacement capacity, although there
might be a need for some additional investment in plant upgrading.
c.. Per kWh costs for waste management and decommissioning can be reduced.
d.. With nuclear fuel costs being generally lower and more stable than
fossil fuel costs, this means that LTO can be expected to provide
electricity at a lower cost than any other available option, which has a
clear benefit to the national economy.
During the operating lifetime of several decades, it will often be possible
to enhance plant safety levels by upgrading systems, structures and
components (SSCs). Some such upgrades may be required by regulators, while
others will be made by plant operators as part of regular maintenance or in
pursuit of improved operating performance. Thus, while a nuclear power plant
(NPP) may have been in operation for 30 or 40 years, many of its SSCs will
be much younger. LTO helps to justify the investment in such upgrades, which
means that it can also help to raise safety levels.

Longer-term operation of existing nuclear power plants contributes to
sustainability by maintaining security and stability of energy supply and
the diversity of energy sources; throughout, safety remains of paramount
importance. Furthermore, LTO can provide nuclear energy without the
significant environmental impacts that would be created by alternative power
generation options (notably CO2 emissions). Most countries with operating
NPPs consider that nuclear energy contributes to the sustainability of their
overall energy supply system, in that it minimises the long-term and
irreversible impacts on the environment of meeting current energy demand.

http://www.nea.fr/html/pub/newslette...anagement.html


--
John R. Carroll