The economics of nuclear power have reached the point where they require proponents in the United States to believe in “impossible things,” according to former Energy Daily reporter Dennis Wamsted.

“Just in the past 2½ years, for example, seven plants at six sites have been shut down due to uneconomic performance or massive equipment repair costs—and other plants are on the chopping block,” Wamsted writes.

Projects under construction in Georgia and South Carolina are “seriously behind schedule and way over budget,” yet utilities in Florida and Virginia are promoting new projects that “could leave ratepayers holding the bag for billions of dollars in nuclear construction costs.”

Wamsted goes into a deep analysis of Florida Power & Light’s justification for a two-unit, 2,200-megawatt extension to its Turkey Point nuclear station, as well as the costing for Dominion Resources’ North Anna 3 project in Louisa County, VA.

“It is past time for utility executives and their regulators to take a step back and reassess,” he concludes. “An honest look at the real costs of nuclear power will show that the economics don’t add up. It is time to stop believing in impossible things.”