Energy Policy: Above All, Do No Harm

The title is from a speech by John Rowe, Chairman & CEO of Exelon Corp, to the American Enterprise Institute

Some quotes from the speech Tom Adams referenced at his blog today (I suggest the entire speech is worth the short investment in time):

Neither new nuclear, coal with carbon capture and sequestration, wind nor solar
are economic.  They are not economic because of energy prices, an excess of
generating capacity and very low load growth. 
Energy efficiency and uprates at existing nuclear plants are economic at
today’s prices.
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However, even though the cost of wind is above market, because of
mandates, it bids into the market much below the market price, often at
zero.  This collapses the clearing price for the rest of the market.
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And if new plants need to be built, new natural gas combined cycle plants
cost less than half of a new coal plant and only a sixth of the cost of a
new nuclear plant. They can also be built in half the time it takes to build a
new coal plant.