Government Loan for Georgia Nuclear Reactors Is Terrible for Taxpayers

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http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=3049


Government Loan for Georgia Nuclear Reactors Is Terrible for Taxpayers – Guarantee Program Should Be Scrapped

Statement of Tyson Slocum, Director, Public Citizen’s Energy Program

Taxpayers are about to take another huge hit. Reports that the Obama administration Tuesday will announce a “conditional” loan guarantee for corporate utility Southern Company to build two new nuclear reactors at its Vogtle site in Georgia will once again put taxpayers on the hook when they can least afford it. In addition, it takes us entirely in the wrong direction. Proven efficiency and renewable energy technologies that can benefit millions of households are more cost-effective public investments than financially risky and uncertified nuclear technology.

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The inability to project true construction costs and timelines coupled with regulatory issues that plagued the nuclear industry in the past have not been resolved. Not only is the final price tag for Southern Company’s two new reactors unknown, but the reactor design that has been tapped for federal backing, the Westinghouse AP1000, has yet to receive design certification from the NRC. In fact, the latest delay in the AP1000 certification process is due to the reactor’s inability to meet critical safety requirements. The NRC has grave doubts as to whether the protective structure of the APt000 nuclear reactor can withstand hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and the impact of a commercial airliner, as required by the NRC’s regulations.

Rather than hand over scarce public resources to Southern Company so it can pursue a proven financial failure like nuclear power, the government should scrap the loan guarantee program and instead develop and deploy small-scale renewable energy sources such as rooftop solar, wind and geothermal. The government also should offer incentives for people to retrofit homes and small businesses with energy-efficiency technologies. Such investments would not only eliminate the security and safety risks posed by nuclear power but would allow investment to flow directly to families and small businesses, instead of only big, politically connected corporations.
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will Georgians take this on or not?

[Mari333]

1. depends on the jobs it creates

and it better not build a nuke plant with NON union workers. believe me. bad bad idea if they do.

and I agree, I would put solar panels on my home and attempt to live off the grid IF it were economically feasible..so far, its not.

[kestrel91316]

3. Dollars to donuts it IS nonunion.

[Mari333]

4. if it us then prepare for problems

my husband was a union pipefitter and he welded the inside of containment units in Illinois before they went online. the welds have to be PERFECT and they are X rayed over and over. there cannot be one mistake.
only TRAINED UNION people can accomplish this.

its a disaster waiting to happen if non union personnel build these.

[xchrom]

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