The CEO of General Electric Mr Immelt also had a few words to say about nuclear power. His company is a major manufacturer of nuclear equipment. He recently said:
‘It’s just hard to justify nuclear. Really hard. Gas is so cheap and at some point really economics rule … So I think some combination of gas and either wind or solar … that’s where we see most countries around the world going.”
This is not what uranium companies or their investors want to hear. They would argue the long-term case is still intact given that China India and other Asian nations are committed to building a huge new fleet of plants right at a time when a shortage is looming.
But a huge gas supply is also looming and like GE’s boss said at some point economics rule. Uranium is now in the cross hairs. ‘Permanently cheap’ gas is giving the economics of nuclear energy a run for its money too. The uranium spot price held above $52/ lb between last September and this May. But in the last few months the uranium price has been slipping and is back down to $49 / lb.