Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Even The Chinese Plan To Rapidly Expand Nuclear Power Generation

While authorities in the United States endlessly debate whether to promote, allow, or prohibit construction of more nuclear power generating reactors here, as climate change legislation wends its painful way through innumerable Congressional committee hearings and mark ups, China, the world's biggest consumer of electric power generated by burniung coal, is accelerating plans to exponentially expand its national nuclear electric generating capacity. Previous Chinese plans called for 440% growth in the proportion of electricity that country generates from nuclear power by 2020, but China's newest plan calls for 770% expansion in nuclear generating capaicty by 2020.

All the while, our Congress continues to debate whether or not to define electric power produced by nuclear reactors as "renewable energy" for the purposes of computing carbon emission credit allowances. Last time I checked, nuclear power doesn't give off a single gram of greenhouse gas emissions. What gives?
blog comments powered by Disqus