Nuclear lobby has spent $953 million to promote its wares

there is real danger that the nuclear industry will continue to promote itself as a ‘silver-bullet’ solution to climate change……“The worst thing about new nuclear is that it steals billions of public dollars from other more effective things like energy efficiency,”

Nuclear Energy Steals Billions from Other Technologies, By Stephen Leahy*, 20 July 2010, Costs of nuclear skyrocket while costs of renewables falling quickly say energy experts Why is nuclear energy back on the table?One reason is a powerful U.S. lobby where 14 energy companies spent 48 million dollars in 2007 alone to convince American politicians to give the industry huge loan guarantees because they cannot get financing anywhere else, says Ellen Vancko, a nuclear energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a U.S.-based non governmental organisation (NGO).

This lavish lobbying effort by the energy and nuclear power sector has been ongoing since the mid-1990s, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a U.S. NGO and now totals at least 953 million dollars.

Even more has been spent to convince the public that nuclear is one of the keys to energy security so that there is significant public support for new reactors, a Gallup Environment Poll reported this year.

“There are lots of senators and members of congress talking about nuclear as a clean, renewable energy resource,” Vancko says…….

“The hype around a nuclear power revival or renaissance was based on nothing and is effectively dead.
Last month Canada backed out of ordering two 1,200-megawatt reactors because cost estimates of 10,000 dollars/kW were three times higher than expected.

However there is real danger that the nuclear industry will continue to promote itself as a ‘silver-bullet’ solution to climate change and give politicians the kind of mega-projects that gets them publicity, warns Schneider.

Equally important is that corporate shareholders of large utility companies can do very well financially on such projects when governments guarantee to cover any losses.

“The worst thing about new nuclear is that it steals billions of public dollars from other more effective things like energy efficiency,” he says.

Nuclear Energy Steals Billions from Other Technologies « Stephen Leahy, International Environmental Journalist

July 20, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, uranium