Rewarding failure: Taxpayers on hook for $12 billion nuclear boondoggle. Vogtle’s nuclear expansion is billions of dollars over budget, its completion is far from certain, and the federal government is once again coming to the rescue. In March, Secretary Perry announced the finalization of $3.7 billion in taxpayer-backed federal loan guarantees for the Vogtle project. This came over repeated objections by taxpayer and consumer watchdog organizations and despite numerous serious hurdles remaining for the only new nuclear power project still under construction in the United States. More importantly, these newly-finalized loan guarantees were on top of $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees that the project partners, Southern Company’s Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power), previously secured, bringing the total to $12 billion.
The Hill 2nd April 2019 read more »
The Green New Deal resolution is a bold and necessary path forward to tackle the climate crisis. To be successful, it must leave nuclear power behind. With just a decade left to stop the worst effects of climate change, we must dramatically transform how we produce, use and pay for energy. And as momentum around the Green New Deal turns into concrete proposals, we must recognize why nuclear power is a discredited and dishonest distraction, not a solution. To reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 60 percent by 2030, and down to zero by 2050, we need cost-effective, proven energy generation technology that can be scaled up to meet these benchmarks. Nuclear power does not and will not ever meet these criteria. After 60 years, despite massive subsidies, the nuclear industry is dying of its own accord. Why? Because it’s too expensive, too dangerous and dirty, and takes too long to deploy. Reactors are closing across the country, and major corporations have declared bankruptcy.
The Hill 2nd April 2019 read more »
