the middle of the 1990s.
In the Philippines, a completely constructed
nuclear power plant is being mothballed, and in Austria, a mothballed
plant is to be dismantled.
We all know the situation in the United States, where no new orders
have been placed since before the Three Mile Island accident and more
than 100 nuclear plant orders have been cancelled since 1975. One must,
however, remember that 63 orders for coal-fired plants were also
cancelled during the same period and that the main reason has been the
recession and the consequently much lower than projected electricity
demand. The present long construction times for nuclear power plants in
the USA have made the economics of new plants questionable but many of
the operating plants are giving excellent performance and economic
results. The USA still has the largest nuclear programme in the world,
with more than 100 plants in operation and 15 under construction.
question is whether the nuclear option will be attractive in the 1990s,
when new electricity generating capacity will be needed. A recent report
from the Department of Energy points to the need for nuclear power and to
the actions required to assure a comeback.
The
In the other superpower, the Soviet Union, it has been decided to
introduce some design and procedural changes in the Chernobyl-type
reactors. The future Soviet nuclear power programme will not be based on
the RBMK-type, but on a series of highly standardized PWRS in the 1000
MW (e) range.
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