Beyond Nuclear resists DOE worsening risks for taxpayer-backed nuclear loan guarantees

On Sept. 22, Beyond Nuclear joined a national coalition led by Texans for a Safe Energy Policy and their attorney, Diane Curran, in submitting comments to the U.S. Department of Energy regarding a proposed weakening of its taxpayer-backed nuclear loan guarantee program rules. The coalition also includes Friends of the Earth, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Public Citizen Texas, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Union of Concerned Scientists. DOE’s proposal would move taxpayers further to the back of the line, allowing other investors, such as foreign export banks, to receive priority compensation when half or more of new reactor projects default on their loan repayments, at a cost of many billions per failed project. The coalition’s comments represented a prompt and strong challenge to DOE’s rushed weakening of its rules, preserving our right to pursue legal challenges to such shenanigans in the future.