Full Title: Nuclear Power: Still Not Viable without Subsidies
Author(s): Doug Koplow
Publisher(s): Union of Concerned Scientists
Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Conspicuously absent from industry press releases and briefing memos touting nuclear power’s potential as a solution to global
warming is any mention of the industry’s long and expensive history of taxpayer subsidies and exces- sive charges to utility ratepayers. These subsidies not only enabled the nation’s existing reactors to be built in the first place, but have also supported their operation for decades.
The industry and its allies are now pressuring all levels of government for large new subsidies to support the construction and operation of a new generation of reactors and fuel-cycle facili- ties. The substantial political support the industry has attracted thus far rests largely on an uncritical acceptance of the industry’s economic claims and an incomplete understanding of the subsidies that made—and continue to make—the existing nucle- ar fleet possible.