Japan’s power emergency stops nuclear projects

Nuclear power projects in Italy and the USA have been stopped following Japan’s continuing struggle with its reactors in Fukushima.

Earlier this week, Italy’s national government proposed it would indefinitely postpone its plans to build four reactors, which would have cost US$26 billion, due to the nuclear emergency Japan is currently experiencing. Last night the Italian Senate voted in favour of shelving the program.

US company NRG Inc announced that it had shelved its plans to build two nuclear reactors in Texas, projects worth more than US$11 billion in total.

“The tragic nuclear incident in Japan has introduced multiple uncertainties around new nuclear development in the United States,” admitted David Crane, NRG president and CEO.

“The extraordinary challenges facing US nuclear development … and the very considerable financial resources expended by NRG on the project over the past five years make it impossible for us to justify to our shareholders any further financial participation in the development.”

NRG was to build the reactors in partnership with Toshiba, which built two of the six reactors at Fukushima plant of Tokyo Electric Power that was also involved in financing the NRG project.