Nuclear Power Companies Booming Worldwide
British Energy pulled off an incredible feat last week of announcing a barnstorming 145% rise in profits. BE, which generates one-fifth of the UK’s electricity, is also expected to have a major role to play in the process of building the next generation of nuclear stations – assuming management can demonstrate that they are up to the task.
Nuclear energy companies are thriving, due to the clean, cheap and efficent manner in which Nuclear power can be generated. In other recent news, an upstart Alberta company, which includes oil patch heavy hitter Hank Swartout as an invester, has a deal with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. to market the Candu nuclear reactor to firms in Calgary looking to operate oil sands projects.
The use of nuclear power is controversial because of the problem of storing radioactive waste for indefinite periods, the potential for possibly severe radioactive contamination by accident or sabotage, and the possibility that its use in some countries could lead to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Proponents aver that these risks are small and can be further reduced by the technology in the new reactors. They further claim that the safety record is already good when compared to other fossil-fuel plants, that it releases much less radioactive waste than coal power, and that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source. Critics, including most major environmental groups believe nuclear power is an uneconomic, unsound and potentially dangerous energy source, especially compared to renewable energy, and dispute whether the costs and risks can be reduced through new technology. There is concern in some countries over North Korea and Iran operating research reactors and fuel enrichment plants, since those countries refuse adequate IAEA oversight and are believed to be trying to develop nuclear weapons.
