Nuclear power in North Carolina

In my opinion, no effective climate policy can ignore nuclear power, so the Duke-Progress merger is good news:

The merger between Duke Energy and Progress Energy makes it likelier that a new nuclear reactor would be built in the Carolinas in the next 10 years. It also means that customers could pay higher bills almost immediately to get a reactor built. ...

[Progress Energy's] Johnson and [Duke Energy's] Rogers see nuclear expansion as the only viable option to meet North Carolina's future energy demand, even if demand projections are off. That's because the nation will have to start replacing dozens of aging coal-burning power plants and older nuclear plants, which are slated for retirement in the coming decades. ...

Since coal-burning power plants stand little chance of public acceptance, given concerns about pollution and climate change, the only remaining option for round-the-clock electricity generation is nuclear power, which generates no greenhouse gases and no air emissions, utilities say.

Industry experts agree that increasing the size of a utility improves its financial prospects. Mergers are almost always seen as positive developments that will help utilities finance new nuclear plants, digital power grids, transmission system upgrades, routine maintenance and other projects.

via www.newsobserver.com