Nuclear Implosions: The Rise and Fall of the Washington Public Power Supply System (Studies in Economic History & Policy: USA in the Twentieth Century)

Nuclear Implosions tells the story of a state government agency's failed attempt in the 1970s to build five large nuclear power stations in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Facing huge cost overruns and long construction delays, the agency completed only one plant and found itself unable to repay a $2.25 billion of municipal bonds. These projects reflect the tangled relationships between American nuclear power and nuclear weaponry, the emerging era of limits, and the nation's troubled attempts to resolve conflicts through complex legal cases. This book follows a small public agency in Washington State that undertook one of the most ambitious construction projects in the nation in the 1970s: the building of five large nuclear power plants. By 1983, delays and cost overruns, along with slowed growth of electricity demand, led to cancellation of two plants and a construction halt on two others. Moreover, the agency defaulted on $2.25 billion of municipal bonds, leading to a monumental court case that took nearly a decade to resolve fully. Daniel Pope sets this in the context of the postwar boom's ending, the energy shocks of the 1970s, a new restraint in forecasting demand, and shifting patterns of municipal finance. Nuclear Implosions also traces the entangling alliance between civilian nuclear energy and nuclear weapons and recounts a telling example of how the law has become a primary method of resolving disputes in a litigious society In the 1970s, a small public agency in Washington State undertook one of the most ambitious construction projects in the nation: the building of five large nuclear power plants. Fraught with problems, the agency eventually defaulted on $2.25 billion of municipal bonds and highlighted the nation's troubled attempts to resolve conflict through complex legal cases. Background To Fiasco -- Wppss Steps Forward -- The Second Wave -- The Construction Morass -- Collapse -- Endgame -- Running Toward An Uncertain Future. Daniel Pope. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Background to fiasco WPPSS steps forward The next wave The construction morass Collapse Endgame Running toward an uncertain future.