Energy extenders exclude dirty nuclear bailout
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Ways and Means Committee released a discussion draft of the Green Act, its energy tax extenders package, today. Excluded from the bill was The Nuclear Powers America Act, a new 30 percent investment tax credit (ITC) for existing reactors badly sought by the nuclear lobby and the utility giant Exelon.
An independent analysis from Friends of the Earth estimated that the bill would saddle ratepayers with $33 billion in costs over the next 20 years, slowing the uptake of cheaper renewables by keeping uneconomical reactors online. Nearly 70 national, state and local groups opposed including the bill as an extender.
Friends of the Earth Senior Policy Analyst Lukas Ross issued the following statement in response:
It is a good day when the nuclear industry goes begging and gets nothing. This dirty bailout would have been a disaster for consumers and for the climate. Dangerous, polluting nuclear energy has no place in our low-cost, low-carbon clean energy future
While we applaud the House for its climate leadership, we look now to the Senate to follow suit. The Senate must reject this massive nuclear boondoggle.
Expert contact: Lukas Ross, (202) 222-0724, [email protected]
Communications contact: Erin Jensen, (202) 222-0722, [email protected]