Reply #12: A little stroll down memory lane with 1984 Time article

[kristopher]

Take a moment to scan the article while bearing in mind the revelations from Perkins and Palast.
Manipulating public money for private gain didn't start with the bankers, nor will it end with them if we listen to these crooks yet again.

Pulling the Nuclear Plug
o is the Palo Verde complex, three 1,270-MW units 50 miles west of Phoenix. It is looked upon as a success by current nuclear industry standards because the expected final cost of some $6 billion is only about double the original estimate of $2.8 billion. A study released in January by the Energy Information Administration, a division of the Department of Energy, showed that 36 of the 47 nuclear plants surveyed cost at least twice as much as initially projected, while 13 of them were four times higher. Among the most expensive of these nuclear white elephants:

SHOREHAM. Overlooking the sound on the North Shore of New York's Long Island, this 1,100-MW plant was supposed to cost $241 million when it was started in 1965 and was expected to go on line in 1975. Now nearly a decade behind schedule, the plant will cost at least $4 billion, or 15 times the original estimate, and could run the Long Island Lighting Co. (Lilco) even more before it produces any electricity. The utility last year had a continuing battle with Suffolk County officials over the approval of evacuation plans in case of an accident. The emergency procedures were finally approved, but now the plant's diesel generators have been found to be defective and may have to be replaced. The utility's chairman, Charles Pierce, resigned suddenly last week. He gave no reason, but the company's board was reported to be unhappy with his handling of the problems at Shoreham.

SEABROOK. Besieged by members of the Clamshell Alliance and other environmentalists, the two-reactor Seabrook plant was begun by Public Service Co. of New Hampshire in 1976 and was slated to cost $973 million. Unit 1, which stands near the coast, may be ready in July 1985, but the company is making no predictions as to when—or whether—Unit 2 will be completed. The utility is currently revising both its construction schedule and the cost projections for the whole project. The most recent estimate: $5.8 billion.

MIDLAND. Conceived as a cooperative venture that would supply Michigan's Consumers Power Co. with electricity and a neighboring Dow Chemical plant with steam, the two-unit, 1,300-MW project on Michigan's Tittabawassee River was launched in 1969. It then carried a $267 million price tag. The problem-plagued development is currently nine years behind schedule and egregiously over budget. Company officials say that construction, now 85% complete, has al ready cost $3.4 billion. ...
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,926461,00.html