Cost Increase of South Texas Project Shows Nuclear Power Is Too Expensive, Too Risky
Oct. 27, 2009
Cost Increase of South Texas Project Shows Nuclear Power Is Too Expensive, Too Risky
Statement of Tom “Smitty” Smith, Director, Public Citizen’s Texas Office
Note: The estimated cost of two new nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project (STP) proposed by CPS Energy has gone up as much as $4 billion, prompting the San Antonio City Council to postpone its vote scheduled for Thursday on the project’s financing.
We can’t think of any good reasons for the San Antonio City Council to continue with this project when there are far less expensive alternatives readily available. Investing in wind and solar makes much more sense and carries none of the risks – both the extreme financial risk that CPS wants taxpayers to bear and the health and safety risks inherent with nuclear power. If the City Council continues with this project, the average ratepayers will see their utility bills increase by 50 percent.
If San Antonio citizens hadn’t stepped to the plate, the City Council would have voted for the STP a month ago and the city would have been another $400 million in the hole with no option to renegotiate. But citizens got educated and got involved. Their involvement made the City Council delay the vote until they had all the information.
We know the San Antonio City Council is too smart to continue to support this boondoggle. Nuclear power is too expensive and too risky to use. It’s time for the San Antonio City Council to pull the plug on the STP expansion.
Additional statement of Karen Hadden, executive director, Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition:
We aren’t surprised to hear that the latest cost estimate for the South Texas Project puts the price to build two new nuclear reactors at $17 billion, $4 billion more than what CPS Energy said in June and more than three times the project’s original $5.4 billion price tag. We’ve been saying for two years that CPS has been feeding the public lowball estimates that wouldn’t hold up to reality.
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