Deregulation or not, you are correct that we need new power plants here and around the country (Editorial, “California’s Power Nightmare,” Jan. 8). The question, however, is what to build? Units that burn natural gas have been favored up to now, but enthusiasm is waning as gas supplies drop and the price rises.
As your editorial observes, in northern Illinois we are lucky that much of our electricity comes from nuclear power, with its stable cost and ever-increasing reliability. But we do need more capacity, and the benefits of nuclear are becoming clearer all the time. Nuclear plants that once were thought of as lemons are now performing admirably, and nuclear units in the U.S. that come up for sale are the subject of bidding wars.
American companies have already successfully built nuclear plants of modern design overseas, and are anxious to supply their new plants to U.S. utilities. It’s time for the next nuclear generation.
