But nuclear power will face a tough sell in the Northwest, where in addition to concerns about nuclear-waste disposal and plant safety, ratepayers still are paying off billions in debt for a string of partially completed nuclear plants in Washington. Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to embrace nuclear power as part of the solution to the nation's energy needs when he unveils his energy strategy this week. It's been quite incredible, to tell you the truth. The rising cost of other fuel alternatives, including natural gas, has made the operating cost of nuclear generation competitive. .
Nuclear plants are far more reliable than they used to be.
While plants used to run only about 65 percent of the time, plants routinely run at 90 percent capacity today as the industry has matured and plants have worked out the bugs. . And while air emissions from coal and gas are diffused around the planet, nuclear waste can be contained. To say something is clean that puts 500 future generations at risk is worse than what they used to accuse Bill Clinton of. Energy Northwest says it would consider resurrecting the plant only if it got a big yes from the region. Some obstacles to that resurrection are unique to the Northwest.