, Columnist
A Nuclear Revival Needs More Rules, Not Less
If we want affordable zero-carbon power in 2050, it will need to fix the real-world issues that have held back nuclear energy.
Renewables versus nuclear.
Photographer: Roni Rekomaa/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
After decades of winter for nuclear power in North America and Western Europe, there’s recently been some long-overdue signs of spring.
In the state of Georgia, the first unit of the 2.2 gigawatt Vogtle expansion project — $34 billion and 17 years in the making — was connected to the grid April 1. It may have come in at more than double the cost and seven years later originally forecast, but it’s just the second new civilian reactor completed in the US since 1996. The unit has begun testing and may start up as soon as this year.