Interest was reviving, even in the US, where we have not seen a new plant since Three Mile Island.
Alan, I've read that basic sentence a lot recently, but I'm not sure what the media's definition is for a "new nuclear plant". I suspect it probably applies to permitting, and not necessarily construction, since the first two reactors of Plant Vogtle here in Georgia came on line in 1987 and 1989, several years after TMI. Additionally, according to Wikipedia, units 3 & 4 are to be "the first agreement for new nuclear development (in the US) since Three Mile Island." In 2009, the NRC issued an Early Site Permit and Limited Work Authorization, and construction has been underway for two years.
It'll be interesting to watch how/if Fukashima affects this. Wiki article
here . Excerpt:
On April 9, 2008, Georgia Power Company reached a contract agreement for two AP1000 reactors designed by Westinghouse (owned by Toshiba) and the Shaw Group. The contract represents the first agreement for new nuclear development since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, and received approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission on March 17, 2009. As stated by a Georgia Power spokesperson Carol Boatright: "If the PSC approves, we are going forward with the new units." On August 26, 2009 the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an Early Site Permit and a Limited Work Authorization. Construction activities have begun.
