Skip to main content

Kudlow and Yergin on New Nuclear Build

Recently, CNBC analyst Larry Kudlow had a brief conversation about new nuclear build with Daniel Yergin of Cambridge Energy Associates. The transcript (which I've cleaned up for the sake of clarity) follows:
KUDLOW: Oil is inching up toward $70 a barrel. Is this the moment for nuclear power or is this not in my back yard? Joining me now is Daniel Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates and CNBC global energy expert. Dan, welcome back to the show. There's a great story in the Washington Post today . . . Your man is quoted . . . About the explosion of nuclear plants, including a lot of nuclear plant building in the United States, China, India and
Western Europe. Just give us a quick overview comment. Do you expect [it] to happen. Is this the era of nukes?

YERGIN: In a sense it is happening . . . And people say nuclear is not happening or dead . . . In the last five years, something like 24 new nuclear plants have gone into operation and another 20 are under construction. Of course, none of them so far in the United States.

KUDLOW: Well, all right, that's the thing. So let's talk about "not in my back yard". Let's talk about the federal energy regulatory commission that may have some authority to overrule the local "not in my back yards". Is that an interesting part of the energy bill or not?

YERGIN: Well, I think it is. It's one of the provisions that people haven't paid much attention to, but there are several elements of the bill that are meant to encourage [investment] in new nuclear power. There are loan guarantees and various, even money in there to repay companies, if they're subject to, quote, a breakdown in the regulatory process, which is the "not in my back yard".
That evening, CNBC and MSN Money asked viewers if the U.S. should build more nuclear plants in light of increasing energy prices. 84% said yes. Kudlow has been following our industry for a number of months now, something we noted back in March. He also has a blog of his own.

Technorati tags:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

An Ohio School Board Is Working to Save Nuclear Plants

Ohio faces a decision soon about its two nuclear reactors, Davis-Besse and Perry, and on Wednesday, neighbors of one of those plants issued a cry for help. The reactors’ problem is that the price of electricity they sell on the high-voltage grid is depressed, mostly because of a surplus of natural gas. And the reactors do not get any revenue for the other benefits they provide. Some of those benefits are regional – emissions-free electricity, reliability with months of fuel on-site, and diversity in case of problems or price spikes with gas or coal, state and federal payroll taxes, and national economic stimulus as the plants buy fuel, supplies and services. Some of the benefits are highly localized, including employment and property taxes. One locality is already feeling the pinch: Oak Harbor on Lake Erie, home to Davis-Besse. The town has a middle school in a building that is 106 years old, and an elementary school from the 1950s, and on May 2 was scheduled to have a referendu

Why Ex-Im Bank Board Nominations Will Turn the Page on a Dysfunctional Chapter in Washington

In our present era of political discord, could Washington agree to support an agency that creates thousands of American jobs by enabling U.S. companies of all sizes to compete in foreign markets? What if that agency generated nearly billions of dollars more in revenue than the cost of its operations and returned that money – $7 billion over the past two decades – to U.S. taxpayers? In fact, that agency, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), was reauthorized by a large majority of Congress in 2015. To be sure, the matter was not without controversy. A bipartisan House coalition resorted to a rarely-used parliamentary maneuver in order to force a vote. But when Congress voted, Ex-Im Bank won a supermajority in the House and a large majority in the Senate. For almost two years, however, Ex-Im Bank has been unable to function fully because a single Senate committee chairman prevented the confirmation of nominees to its Board of Directors. Without a quorum

NEI Praises Connecticut Action in Support of Nuclear Energy

Earlier this week, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed SB-1501 into law, legislation that puts nuclear energy on an equal footing with other non-emitting sources of energy in the state’s electricity marketplace. “Gov. Malloy and the state legislature deserve praise for their decision to support Dominion’s Millstone Power Station and the 1,500 Connecticut residents who work there," said NEI President and CEO Maria Korsnick. "By opening the door to Millstone having equal access to auctions open to other non-emitting sources of electricity, the state will help preserve $1.5 billion in economic activity, grid resiliency and reliability, and clean air that all residents of the state can enjoy," Korsnick said. Millstone Power Station Korsnick continued, "Connecticut is the third state to re-balance its electricity marketplace, joining New York and Illinois, which took their own legislative paths to preserving nuclear power plants in 2016. Now attention should