Letter: Problematic power

By Louis Poirier

Editor, the Gauntlet,


I think you should be careful about saying the nuclear power is cheap. [“Nuclear energy’s powerful questions,” Roman Auriti, Oct. 2, Gauntlet] All the information that I have suggests that it is more expensive than coal power once you look into the life cycle costs. It turns out not to be too expensive for companies since governments generally cover a great deal of the start up and waste management costs to assure an abundant supply of power. Without government support I find it difficult to believe that any company would embark on such a risky venture, the profits just aren’t high enough given the liability (also covered by government). More importantly we can not trust a company with disposal since companies can fail but the waste will be around for a long time.