The rumblings of new build

It's all go in the dry zone. For several decades, no new nuclear reactors have been built in Europe or North America. But it seems now a growing list of companies are interested.

The latest from Europe is the Germany utility giant RWE.

Of course, they can't do it in Germany because of the moratorium so they'll have to do it elsewhere. Not that Germany will mind. They'll just follow Italy's example and import the electricity generated France or Poland or some other neighbouring state while claiming to be "nuclear-free".

Inside the United States, the surge of new build interest in the fallout of the NRC's new licensing procedures and the pre-certification of the AP-1000 continues.

And not only do some utilities want to build, but the local governments want them to.

Constellation may even be the US launch customer for the EPR.

Meanwhile, Duke Energy has already stated officially it's preparing to apply to the NRC for licensing to build AP-1000s. And the proposal even has its own fan blog.

On the smaller scale, there is much interest in bringing idle capacity back to the forefront. In Canada, Bruce Power has dedicated a substantial sum to bringing Bruce A back online. And after the turbine fire 20 years ago, TVA is on track to restart Browns Ferry-1 next year.

The NRC also continues to grant life extensions and capacity uprates (equivalent to 20+ new reactors; no wonder no brand new ones have been built) to existing power stations.

Nuclear renaissance indeed. Must be some corporate conspiracy to destroy the planet as quickly as possible. ;)