EnergyBiz - January/February 2008 - (Page 76) » meTrics World’s Aging Nuclear Fleet The world has 439 nuclear reactors producing 371.7 gigawatts of electricity or 16 percent of total world generation, according to a report by Mycle Schneider Consulting drawing on data from the International Atomic Energy Association and other sources. An additional 32 units are under construction. The mean age of the fleet is 23 years. The plants have an assumed average life of 40 years. The Greens, an environmental political group in Europe, commenting on the report, said, “… it is practically impossible to maintain or even increase the number of operating nuclear power plants over the next 20 years…” It cited “manufacturing bottlenecks” and lack of trained workers. The number of reactors in the world is up from 423 in 1989 and down from 444 in 2002. # OF REACTORS Nuclear Reactors & Net Operating Capacity 1989 423 reactors 327.6 gigagwatts 371.7 gigawatts 2007 439 reactors thE sizE of thE shAdEd CirClEs ArE ProPortionAtE to thE QuAnity of rEACtors At thAt AgE AGE IN YEARS Tax Light Businessweek magazine has placed four energy companies on its list of the 10 S&P companies paying the lowest percentage of earnings in cash taxes over the past five years. CMS Energy topped the charts with 0 percent. “The main reasons this Jackson, Miss. utility tops the list is its bad business decisions,” which contributed to losses of $1.1 billion over five years, the magazine reported in its Dec. 3 issue In nearby Florida, FPL Group posted a 1.2 percent five-year average tax rate as a result of its aggressive development of wind generation which generated tax credits, and losses generated by hurricanes. Chesapeake Energy, an active natural gas driller, also has been helped by tax breaks, the magazine said. sourCE: myClE sChnEidEr Consulting S&P 500 Companies Paying Lowest % Earnings in Cash Taxes Past 5 Years utility CMS Energy Chesapeake Energy FPL Group Allegheny Energy Five-year Average Tax Rate 0 percent 0.3 1.2 1.3 percent sourCE: BUSINESSWEEK 76 E n E rgyB i z January/February 2008
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