Even Stuffed with Taxpayer Subsidies...

Nuclear power has always been a creature of the State starting with the Manhattan Project, followed by "Atoms for Peace" all the way up to the recent Energy Policy Act of 2005. I'm sure it will be on the Govmint dole far into the future.

Of course this is what makes it particularly fun to watch anti-Govmint types plugging this technology. Now a word or two from our conservative (Manhattan) to libertarian (Cato) "think tanks"...

High Cost Seen as Roadblock to New Nuclear Plants - Reuters

"The biggest obstacle the U.S. nuclear industry must overcome to build new reactors is financing the construction costs, nuclear experts said at a Manhattan Institute conference in New York Wednesday, the 28th anniversary of the Three Mile Island accident."

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"The construction of a new reactor, estimated to cost up to $4 billion to $5 billion, is a make-or-break decision for most U.S. utilities, the biggest of which (Exelon Corp. of Chicago) has a market cap of less than $50 billion."

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"The most important federal program is the loan guarantee provision of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which, depending on how the Department of Energy implements the program, could allow companies to fence off investments in new reactors without compromising other operations, Meyers noted.

But Jerry Taylor, senior fellow, at the Cato Institute, said the government should not subsidize the nuclear industry. 'If the government is worried about carbon dioxide, they should tax carbon, not subsidize nuclear power. If nuclear power has merit, investors will embrace it,' Taylor said."

Even Stuffed with Taxpayer Subsidies...

Nuclear power has always been a creature of the State starting with the Manhattan Project, followed by "Atoms for Peace" all the way up to the recent Energy Policy Act of 2005. I'm sure it will be on the Govmint dole far into the future.

Of course this is what makes it particularly fun to watch anti-Govmint types plugging this technology. Now a word or two from our conservative (Manhattan) to libertarian (Cato) "think tanks"...

High Cost Seen as Roadblock to New Nuclear Plants - Reuters

"The biggest obstacle the U.S. nuclear industry must overcome to build new reactors is financing the construction costs, nuclear experts said at a Manhattan Institute conference in New York Wednesday, the 28th anniversary of the Three Mile Island accident."

---

"The construction of a new reactor, estimated to cost up to $4 billion to $5 billion, is a make-or-break decision for most U.S. utilities, the biggest of which (Exelon Corp. of Chicago) has a market cap of less than $50 billion."

---

"The most important federal program is the loan guarantee provision of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which, depending on how the Department of Energy implements the program, could allow companies to fence off investments in new reactors without compromising other operations, Meyers noted.

But Jerry Taylor, senior fellow, at the Cato Institute, said the government should not subsidize the nuclear industry. 'If the government is worried about carbon dioxide, they should tax carbon, not subsidize nuclear power. If nuclear power has merit, investors will embrace it,' Taylor said."