The nuclear industry appears to be on the edge of a rebirth. A number of utilities that are current nuclear plant owners are considering adding new units. Electric cooperatives are partial owners of several of these units.
Currently, the 103 operating nuclear units in the US are performing at 90+ percent capacity factor and with the lowest operating costs in the nation. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 included partial funding for technologically advanced nuclear units and also included some risk funding for delays to units that were beyond the control of the constructing utility. The nuclear industry, which already had the best security of any industry, is working with Nuclear Regulatory Commission to meet its new security regulations.
Despite recent successes, the industry still faces obstacles. Yucca Mountain, the proposed repository for used nuclear fuel, remains behind schedule and is losing ground. The Department of Energy (DOE) was supposed to have applied for an operating license for the repository by the end of 2004, but current indications are that it will be 2007 at the earliest. DOE has been working on this repository for 23 years and is still not close to receiving a license. In the interim, the utilities have paid into the Nuclear Waste Fund (at a 1 mill per kwh fee) over $33 billion.