RE: Scientists: Nuclear power isn't viable without corporate welfare
@Klassman6
Your information is leaving out a lot of details. No operating
nuclear plant obtains any production tax credits - the 1.8 cents
that you mention from the Energy Policy Act of 2005 only applies
to a limited amount of power generated from new plants. Only
the first 6,000 MWe will qualify. The idea is to stimulate the
restart of a nuclear construction industry that has been
essentially dead for 30 years.
Wind and solar projects have been getting production tax credits
for many years without any limit on the number of megawatts
that can qualify. When the market for the tax credits dried up
when companies suffered large losses in the financial crisis and
no longer needed any tax write offs, Congress came up with a
30% investment tax credit in lieu of the PTC. Since 2009, new
solar and wind can get 30% of the project cost within 6 months
of closing the deal directly from the federal government. They
also qualify for more than 50 billion in loan guarantees that are
not available to nuclear.
In the loan guarantee program available to nuclear, the projects
are assessed a Credit Subsidy Cost fee, which is analogous to
the Private Mortgage Insurance fee that people without down
payments have to pay to get an FHA loan. Again, there is a
difference because the nuclear project developer ALSO must
provide a 20% capital investment as a down payment that
insulates the lender in the case of a default. The CSC for
renewables is paid by the taxpayers; in the case of one nuclear
project, the OMB determined that the fee would be $880 million,
nearly 12% of the loan amount and that fee was due when the
loan closed - probably 5 years before the project would be
complete and earning revenue.
The company offered that "deal" rejected it and quit trying to
build a new nuclear power plant in the US.
Loan guarantees are a hand up, not a hand out. They were
created by Congress in recognition of the fact that clean, reliable
energy has long term value that the market will recognize as
soon as we can prove that we will not suffer another Shoreham
Syndrome financial debacle.
So far, the NRC is not taking any actions that would reassure
investors that even a well run, well engineered, well constructed
project will be allowed to operate in any reasonable time frame in
the United States. That is an incredible tragedy for current and
future generations who are stuck with a power system that is
dependent on burning explosive and hazardous coal, natural gas
and oil instead of producing emission free fission power.
