Biden backs $195 billion nuke bailout

Reuters reported this morning that the Biden administration is supportive of a production tax credit (PTC) for existing nuclear reactors. This would increase costs for consumers and delay the uptake of cheaper, cleaner renewables.

If the PTC rate of 2.5 cents per KWh and the period of qualification from Chairman Wyden’s recent Clean Energy for America Act were applied to existing reactors, the cost to taxpayers could reach over $195 billion over the coming decade.

 Friends of the Earth Program Manager Lukas Ross issued the following response:

A nuclear bailout is wrong for taxpayers, wrong for ratepayers, and wrong for the climate. Paying to keep aging reactors online is courting disaster and guaranteed to slow the deployment of truly clean renewables. Congress and President Biden should not throw good money after bad.

Expert contact: Lukas Ross, (202) 222-0724, [email protected]
Communications contact: Aisha Dukule, [email protected]