IS THIS the dawn of a new nuclear age in the US? After more than three decades in which it has built no nuclear plants, last week two consortia involving nearly a dozen companies announced that they have filed applications for licences to build new reactors.
The move is part of an effort by the nearly moribund nuclear industry to build a new generation of power plants under a streamlined licensing process introduced last year. This is intended to cut the time from application to production from about 12 years down to five.
One consortium involving five electric power production…
