Reuters reported May 2:
Duke Energy, the largest U.S. electric utility, said it notified regulators on Thursday that it will drop plans to build two new nuclear reactors in North Carolina due to slow growth in power demand.
This announcement came two days after an NRC decision blocking construction of two new reactors at the South Texas Project.
A note of caution, however: Duke said it is suspending the license application, not withdrawing it. According to Dhiaa Jamil, president of Duke Energy Nuclear:
The Harris site is well-suited for new nuclear generation and has not been eliminated from our long-term consideration as a site to expand our nuclear fleet.
The Reuters piece also cited the reasons for the decline in the so-called Nuclear Renaissance:
The once-predicted revival of U.S. nuclear construction has been tempered by lower natural gas prices, anemic growth in electric demand and the absence of limits on emissions of carbon dioxide.
Here’s a link: http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/utilities-duke-nuclear-idINL2N0DJ2QG20130502
