ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses apparent relationships between scale and the accepance of nuclear energy and suggests some policy implications of these preliminary findings. Among the various energy options for the United States, nuclear energy is unique in the emotionally-charged opposition it provokes within a sizeable part of American society. The history of civilian nuclear power since World War II is well-known. Nuclear energy was one of many manifestations of a national mood that emerged from the war. Evaluations of the “optimal scale” of energy actions revolve around economic realities; but in the long run economic considerations are partly a function of culture, as preferences and social concerns come to be expressed in the form of market conditions. The most basic assumptions are about economies of scale for generating units-essentially, the elasticity of total operating costs for a unit with respect to its level of output. Scales at which it makes most sense in terms of engineering economics.
