Nuclear power set for a US revival

The US' nuclear-power sector continues its revival, amid rising energy demand, and the need to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and energy imports, writes Anne Feltus

SINCE MID-2007, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received at least 17 licence applications for as many as 26 possible reactors, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) reports. Further applications are expected within the next year and four to eight new plants will be in operation by 2016 or 2017, the agency predicts. These new sites will join a network of 104 nuclear reactors, in 31 states, accounting for about 20% of the country's power-generating capacity, and would make the US the world's largest commercial nuclear energy producer. "If nuclear power were to maintain its share of electricity supply in the US, the industry would need a fleet of about 150 nuclear power plants, with