3 Reasons to Avoid Nuclear Power
ByTravis Hoium, The Motley Fool
There are three remaining reasons that I don’t think nuclear is a place investors should be looking for value right now.
For safety’s sake
Whether it’s mechanical failure, human error, or a natural disaster, there are major risks associated with nuclear plants. Boosters may count these as one-time events, but they’ve happened more than once, and with Japan looking at billions of dollars to rebuild what was lost after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, the risk should be a major factor in any investment.
Costs are rising, not falling
Compared to other alternative energy sources like wind and solar, whose costs are falling, nuclear is headed in the wrong direction.
It’s a dying business
A look at how financial markets view nuclear power may give even the most hardened supporters pause. Rating agencies have downgraded companies with nuclear assets, and nuclear stocks have plummeted this year.
Investors should also consider that in the past year, U.S. nuclear power generation was down 2.7% and worldwide capacity has fallen from 375.5 GW to 365.5 GW. It’s true that nuclear is out of favor, and according to trends, renewable energy is picking up the slack.
Foolish bottom line
Despite backlash from commenters when I asked if nuclear was really safe, it turned out it hasn’t been for investors since Japan’s disaster. There hasn’t been a bounce back, and shares of Cameco(NYS:CCJ) ,Uranium Energy(NYS:UEC) , and Uranerz Energy(NYS:URZ) have continued to slide.
Read more on this at http://enformable.com/2011/12/a-plethora-of-reasons-investors-should-avoid-nuclear-power/
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