nuclear-news

Senators urge US Development Finance Corp not to fund ‘risky’ overseas nuclear projects

US senators urge agency not to allow funding of ‘risky’ nuclear projects, S and P Global Platts,  Author Joniel Cha , Editor Keiron Greenhalgh 12 July 20

  HIGHLIGHTS

DFC proposes to reverse prior policy

Lawmakers say nuclear not cost competitive

• Washington — Senators Edward Markey, Democrat-Massachusetts, and Bernie Sanders, Independent-Vermont, in a July 10 letter jointly urged US Development Finance Corp., not to “waste American tax dollars on risky international nuclear projects.”

  DFC proposed June 10 to revise its policy so that the federal agency could provide financing for nuclear power projects, beginning a 30-day public comment period ending July 10. 

  The agency was created in 2019 through the consolidation of Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the US Agency for International Development’s Development Credit Authority.

  OPIC and USAID both had bans in place prohibiting them from supporting nuclear reactor projects.

  The senators said international nuclear power projects “are not a cost-competitive form of zero-carbon energy, remain unproven, will divert funds from higher-priority low-income countries, and are not supported by other development banks.” ……..

• The senators said: “DFC should not be dedicating its limited financing to unproven technologies that present both safety and security risks. Pushing experimental research and development is not part of the DFC’s mandate.”

DFC has a total investment limit of $60 billion……..

The senators requested a response from DFC by July 31.

The American Nuclear Society and advocacy group Clear Path, along with 40 other organizations and individuals, submitted comment letters to DFC July 2 and 9, respectively, supporting the removal of the ban.

DFC did not respond to requests for comment July 9.https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/071020-us-senators-urge-agency-not-to-allow-funding-of-risky-nuclear-projects

July 13, 2020 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, politics, USA