Analysis: Levy nuclear plant twice the cost of a natural gas facility

In the long run, nuclear power is cheap.

This, for many of Florida's top decisionmakers, is the Truth. Lawmakers have cast aside their worship of the free market — which long ago lost trust in building nuclear plants — and skewed state law to favor construction of new reactors.

Lisa Edgar is a believer. As a member of the Public Service Commission, she is one of five votes that green-light new nuclear plants, including Duke Energy's Levy County project. The state's proposed nuclear fleet, Edgar said last month, could save Florida consumers "millions and millions, and maybe even billions" over the price of natural gas plants.

State officials repeat the nuclear-is-cheaper gospel so often, the Tampa Bay Times set out to see if the premise is true. The analysis compared the cost of the Levy nuclear plant to a natural gas facility, using a set of assumptions that, if anything, favors nuclear. A new truth emerged:

Natural gas would be cheaper. Cheaper by billions and billions of dollars.

Cheaper even over 60 years and under any likely scenario. Half as much as the Levy plant even using Duke Energy's own projections of fuel costs.
[link to www.tampabay.com]
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