[DannyTN]

I’m not convinced.

First, so what if you have to waste a little bit of power or occassionally shut down a reactor. It’s still better than funding Islamic terrorists.

Second, our country is so large, and we could be talking about so many reactors, that occasional shutdowns should be manageable. If you got 4 reactors and you have to shut one down, it’s a problem. If you’ve got 50 and you have to shut one down, not so much.

Third, I’m sure if we put our minds to it, we could find a way to use that excess power productively.

Fourth, I don’t buy that France having to import power during peak times is financially ruinous to them. It’s not like a free market doesn’t exist. Notice that France isn’t rushing to reopen old power plants, they are merely considering it.

This article just doesn’t pass the smell test.

[Delacon]

Good points all. My take though from the article is that nuclear power is only economically efficient and competitive when plants operate at maximum power, that France handles this problem by operating at maximum power and then selling off the excess to an available market that we don't currently have. Anyway this article kinda rained on my pro nuke parade.