This fall, Congress is poised to consider an energy financing entity that would allow for the distribution of extensive loan guarantees and other forms of credit support to the nuclear power industry with little or no oversight by elected officials or other accountability to taxpayers. These loan guarantees are needed, according to proponents, because Wall Street financers have declined to assume the risks involved in constructing more nuclear reactors in the U.S. Separately, the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program already has $18.5 billion authorized for Treasury-backed loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors. The default rate on these loan guarantees has been estimated at 50 percent. But this could only be the beginning of billions more in risk as the nuclear industry has already submitted more than $120 billion in loan guarantee requests.
Today a briefing on this issue will be conducted by:
• Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander
• Former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Peter Bradford.
While TCS takes no position on whether or not nuclear power should be part of the nation’s energy future, the organization strongly believes that it should not continue to be subsidized by taxpayers.
To listen to the presentation click here
To view presentation materials click here
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