Energy planning in response to climate change:

There has been ample discussion in recent y ears of a "nuclear renaissance," and many politicians and energy analy sts believ e that a meaningful response to climate change must include a new fleet of nuclear plants in the United States. T he long- term planning studies that routinely come out of utilities, adv ocacy groups, and the Department of Energy now commonly include new nuclear units. Howev er, many of these studies use nuclear and utility industry cost estimates for new nuclear plants, rather than estimates based on the actual experiences of companies currently try ing to build nuclear power plants. Given the dollars and the env ironmental impacts at stake, it is critical that planners make resource decisions using the best information av ailable.

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