nuclear-news

The ‘nuclear renaissance’ – a bailout to prevent nuclear industry bankruptcy

The “nuclear renaissance” is simply a bailout, not unlike the Wall Street bailout, for nuclear power companies who face bankruptcy without a massive government infusion of tax-payer funds.

August 6 and 9: Perils and Possibilities, t r u t h o u t,  06 August 2010, by: H. Patricia Hynes and Jeff Napolitano, Not Economically Feasible The economics of nuclear power is as trouble-ridden as the technology. The nuclear industry is underwritten with taxpayer money in the form of tax subsidies and limited liability and, in a free market, would not exist.

Two pending Senate bills, the Kerry-Lieberman Bill (American Power Act) and the American Clean Energy Leadership Act, would give the industry tens of billions of dollars more in federal tax breaks, tax credits and loan guarantees, while protecting equity investors and industry from financial risk. The risk of default on those loans, as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office, is well above 50%. In 2009, Moody’s Investor Services concluded that investment into nuclear power was a “bet the farm” risk. The “nuclear renaissance” is simply a bailout, not unlike the Wall Street bailout, for nuclear power companies who face bankruptcy without a massive government infusion of tax-payer funds.
Not only is this unfair to sustainable energy competition, such as solar and wind industries, but it doesn’t solve nuclear waste disposal, mining pollution, risks of subterfuge, no safe evacuation in case of serious accident, and the risk of weapons grade materials production. Consider the statement by Jon Wellinghoff, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, that new coal and nuclear plants are unnecessary and a poor choice of energy investment compared to renewables. Moreover, comparative analysis of dollar for dollar spent on nuclear versus renewable energy industries shows that solar and wind industries create more than three times as many jobs as nuclear power. Is there any other industry – which pollutes from “cradle to grave,” with no safe disposal solution, implicated in weapons development, and unable to pay its own way – so coddled and enabled by Washington?

t r u t h o u t | August 6 and 9: Perils and Possibilities

August 7, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA