This has been a recent trend – now changing – in Europe and the United States, but not true in the world at large where more than 50 nuclear plants are now under construction, with many more expected in the near future.

 

In the United States, this decommissioning trend has been fueled by irrational public fear, which has contributed to excessive regulatory bureaucracy and cost.  In the face of these obstacles, investors have been reluctant to take on the large up-front capital expenditures required to build conventional nuclear power plants.