An article by Ryan Randazzo in the Arizona Republic nominally reports on John McCain complaining about the halting of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. But what got my attention was the follow on comments by Arizona Public Service officials on the likely construction of a second nuclear power plant in Arizona to meet base load electricity demands of 2020. [right, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. Credit, APS]
Ryan quotes Don Brandt, president & CEO of Pinnacle West Capital Corp., which owns APS, as saying they are looking at nuclear for those needs but don't want to be in the first wave of applications to build a plant. Rather, they want other companies to clear the political, legal, and regulatory minefields awaiting those applications around the country before APS steps into the fray.