GE Vice Chairman Sees Nuclear Sector Delays After Japan Crisis
May 25 2011 - 11:09AM
Dow Jones News
The head of General Electric Co.'s (GE) energy business said
Wednesday that he is optimistic on the long-term outlook for the
nuclear-energy sector despite an obvious slowdown in the wake of
the disaster in Japan.
"There's going to be delays, because there is going to be lots
of learning based on what happened," said GE Vice Chairman John
Krenicki Jr. in an interview.
Krenicki also said he expects nuclear power to be more expensive
when the industry regains its footing "because there's going to be
more redundancies in place" stemming from what are likely to be new
regulatory requirements.
GE competitor Siemens AG (SI) is considering whether to abandon
its goal of becoming a major player in the atomic-power industry,
several unconfirmed news reports have said in recent months.
Siemens Chief Financial Officer Joe Kaeser fueled the
speculation in April, when he told Germany's Der Tagesspiegel
newspaper that "Fukushima has to be an occasion for taking stock
[of nuclear energy]," referring to the nuclear accident in
Japan.
But Krenicki said Wednesday that GE takes a "decades-long" view
of the nuclear sector and remains committed to it, adding that
nations such as China and India "are going to continue to move
forward" with nuclear power.
"We view nuclear as a marathon," Krenicki said.
GE runs its nuclear business through a joint venture with
Hitachi Ltd. (HIT, 6501.TO). GE had a big role in designing and
building some of the reactors at the heart of the Japan crisis
earlier this year.
Krenicki said GE has seen little tangible impact on its nuclear
operations in the wake of the disaster, aside from a downturn for
its nuclear-fuel business in Japan.
-By Bob Sechler; Dow Jones Newswires; 512-258-1690;
bob.sechler@dowjones.com
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