Study of factors governing US utility nuclear power decisions

Technical Report · Thu May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1980

OSTI ID:6405128

Under DOE contract No. DE-AC02-79ET34009, The S.M. Stoller Corporation has conducted a study of US utility attitudes toward nuclear power. In the course of this study SMSC carried out a utility survey the objectives of which were: (1) to identify and rank in importance the governing considerations in actions taken in the past three years to cancel or defer nuclear projects, and (2) to gain insight into the circumstances and attitudes likely to govern new base-load commitments over the next several years. During the survey, contacts were made at the senior management level with utilities representing approximately half of the country's total electric capacity and two-thirds of its present nuclear commitment. Analysis of the responses led to the conclusion that most, if not all, of the decisions reached by the respondent utilities in the past several years to cancel or defer nuclear projects were triggered by one or a combination of the following four considerations: financial constraints; reduction in expected system load growth; schedule delay in licensing and construction and/or unpredictability; and adverse state government policies or attitudes regarding nuclear power.

• Research Organization: Stoller (S.M.) Corp., New York (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-79ET34009
• OSTI ID: 6405128
• Report Number(s): DOE/ET/34009-T1; TRN: 81-012066
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
PLANNING
USA
CONSTRUCTION
DATA ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC POWER
LEGAL ASPECTS
POWER DEMAND
REACTOR LICENSING
REGULATIONS
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NUCLEAR FACILITIES
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POWER PLANTS
PUBLIC UTILITIES
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210000* - Nuclear Power Plants
290600 - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy