By Javier E David
One of the biggest contributors to the ongoing decline of the U.S. nuclear industry is booming natural gas development, according to a new study.
In a study published in March, the Institute for Energy and Environment identified cost overruns, slowing demand and plunging natgas prices—which this week fell to a five month low—as key forces behind nuclear’s decline.
Cheap and abundant natural gas is eating away at nuclear energy’s traditional role in generating electricity in a way that has made the sector’s prospects increasingly precarious, according to the institute and others. Even as the U.S. renews its push for climate change policies that could give nuclear a new lease on life, some observers are doubtful much can be done to arrest the sector’s spiral.
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