nuclear-news

Nuclear lobbyists will have to twist and turn to resuscitate nuclear industry

…. Nothing but a massive new infusion of subsidies from taxpayers and customers can get the renaissance back on track…………..
Subsidizing new reactors will also come disguised as job creation. It takes a lot of people to build a nuclear plant. However, it also takes a lot of people to build other types of power plants or to install energy-efficiency measures. And these other technologies really are shovel-ready. They don’t require licenses that take years to acquire. And—because they are cheaper than new reactors—they don’t impose job-killing rate increases on industries with big electric bills….

Nuclear Power’s Search For the Taxpayer’s Wallet, Epoch Times, By Peter Bradford, 2 Dec 10, As the new Congress convenes in Washington next year, nuclear power’s apparently limitless quest for federal subsidies will test the resolve of representatives elected to end Washington’s culture of entitlement and the costs it imposes on American taxpayers.
For 10 years now, lobbyists favoring a “renaissance” in building new U.S. reactors have been lining up financial help from taxpayers. They need this help because these new reactors are far more expensive than other ways of generating or saving electricity. Consequently, private investors won’t take the risk of losing a lot of money.
As of late 2008, the lobbyists’ quest seemed to be succeeding. Congress provided subsidies worth tens of billions. Twenty-seven new reactors were awaiting construction licenses, with seven more applications expected in 2010. But then the entire enterprise went off the rails due to the high cost of the nuclear plants, coupled with lower electric demand, and falling costs of alternatives, especially natural gas……. Nothing but a massive new infusion of subsidies from taxpayers and customers can get the renaissance back on track…………..

Subsidizing new reactors will also come disguised as job creation. It takes a lot of people to build a nuclear plant. However, it also takes a lot of people to build other types of power plants or to install energy-efficiency measures. And these other technologies really are shovel-ready. They don’t require licenses that take years to acquire. And—because they are cheaper than new reactors—they don’t impose job-killing rate increases on industries with big electric bills….

Nuclear Power’s Search For the Taxpayer’s Wallet | Opinion | Epoch Times

December 22, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, USA