South Texas gets two new nuke reactors

Houston Chronicle:

Plans for two new nuclear reactors at the South Texas power plant in Matagorda County are the latest sign of a resurgence of interest in nuclear power in the U.S., a movement fueled in part by high natural gas prices and a favorable regulatory environment.

NRG Energy, which owns most of the plants in the Houston area and has a 44 percent stake in the South Texas Project, said Wednesday that it plans to spend up to $5.2 billion to more than double the plant's capacity by 2,700 megawatts. The reactors wouldn't be on line until 2014 at the earliest, as they face a lengthy approval process.

Supporters of the proposal say it could create up to 3,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent positions, a boon for rural Matagorda County. County Judge Greg Westmoreland said about 40 percent of the county's $15 million annual budget comes from the power plant's tax payments.

But opponents of nuclear power say the new reactors will have the same problem all nuclear plants have, namely the danger of using and storing highly radioactive fuel.

The new reactors are part of a 10-year, $16 billion nationwide expansion plan for Princeton, N.J.-based NRG.

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Actually the biggest problems with these plants are the nutty critics who hate any form of energy production. The enviromentalist have been attempting to starve all forms of energy production for years, even types they previously favored such as wind turbines. It makes no sense to oppose the cleanest form of energy production if you are worried about the enviroment. France, of all people, has shown that nuclear energy is the most cost effective way of producting energy, and it would be even more cost effective if the enviromental wackos did not drive up cost with frivelous objections and appeals.