The politics of nuclear power

The Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO) built the Shoreham Nuclear Power plant, on New York State's Long Island, at a cost of over $5 billion. In 1989, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted LILCO a full operating license for Shoreham. yet, that year New York State and LILCO signed an agreement under which LILCO would sell the plant to New York State for $1. new York, in turn, would dismantle Shoreham, despite great uncertainties regarding future power supplies for Long Island. The Shoreham project brought a major public utility to the brink of bankruptcy, forced the question of state versus federal control of nuclear power, and for over a decade dominated the politics of a region of 2.7 million people. This book examines how technology, economics, managements, politics, and personal commitments interacted to produce one of the most spectacular and pivotal failures of nuclear power policy in the United States