Nuclear Costs
Estimates for new reactor construction costs continue to sky-rocket. Conservative estimates range between $6 and $12 billion per reactor but Standard & Poor's predicts a continued rise. The nuclear power industry is lobbying for heavy federal subsidization including unlimited loan guarantees but the Congressional Budget Office predicts the risk of default will be well over 50 percent, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill. Beyond Nuclear opposes taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies for the nuclear energy industry.
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"It’s a big-government-dependent tool to fight climate change that was championed by Jimmy Carter, is now dominated by the French, and has never managed to compete in the marketplace. So why, exactly, do Republicans love nuclear power so much?" (by T.A. Frank in the May/June 2010 Washington Monthly)
As Harvey Wasserman reports in "Apocalypse in the Gulf now (oil) & next (nukes)," we still have a week to urge our U.S. Representatives to remove $9 billion in new loan guarantees for atomic reactor construction from the emergency war and disaster relief funding bill before the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. See the environmental group coalition letter to House Members, as well Taxpayers for Common Sense's own letter to the U.S. House, objecting to these new atomic reactor loan guarantees. Check to see if your U.S. Representative serves on the Appropriations Committee. If they do, phone them via the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to do all they can to block this atomic industry give-away at taxpayer risk. Even if your U.S. Representative does not serve on that committee, call them anyway, and urge that they weigh in with their colleagues on the committee to oppose this massive subsidy. Also, call U.S. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-WI) at (202) 225-2771 to urge this radioactive provision be removed from the bill. See Beyond Nuclear's earlier alert on this issue for additional background information, as well as our original post when Politico broke this story.
June 9, 2010