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McCain’s Nuclear Energy Plan May Cost $315 Billion : Red, Green, and Blue

McCain’s Nuclear Energy Plan May Cost $315 Billion
According to a Bloomberg analysis, John McCain’s plan to revive the U.S. nuclear power industry with 45 new reactors may cost $315 billion, with taxpayers bearing much of the financial risk………………………………

The Energy Information Administration estimated last year that adding nuclear power capacity would cost $2,143 a kilowatt (kW) before financing and inflation. That compared with $1,434 to $2,302 for clean-coal technologies.

Over the past year, the expense has more than doubled to $5,000 a kilowatt, or $7 billion for a typical reactor, utility filings and company statements show. The increase in part reflects rising prices for commodities such as steel and cement………………………

Taxpayers are on the hook for most of the nuclear bill if borrowers default. A 2003 Congressional Budget Office report said that the default rate on nuclear construction debts might be as high as 50%, in part because of the project’s high cost. In short, such defaults could potentially cost taxpayers $100 billion.

Senator McCain’s primary solutions to the United States’ energy problems are increased nuclear production and offshore drilling. He has expressed little confidence or interest in pursuing renewable energy,

McCain’s Nuclear Energy Plan May Cost $315 Billion : Red, Green, and Blue

Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium

September 13, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics