Obama reneges on campaign promise to not subsidize nuclear energy

February 4 - We are disappointed by President Obama's abandonment of his campaign promise not to subsidize the nuclear industry. Nuclear power is dirty, dangerous, and expensive, and expanding our nuclear industry is not a good solution for our nation's energy needs. We do applaud President Obama's continued support of clean energy technologies, such as wind, solar, and biomass.

Nuclear proponents have attempted repeatedly to hawk nuclear power as inexpensive. However, as clearly documented in a 2003 MIT report, nuclear energy is only cost-competitive when it is heavily subsidized. We are very disappointed that the Obama administration has caved into the nuclear lobby and included $54 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear projects in his budget proposal. If we are going to subsidize energy production, why not subsidize the cleanest, safest forms of energy, and the ones that have the greatest potential for job creation, instead of the dirtiest, most dangerous forms?

The Alliance takes no stance on the Obama Administration's recent abandonment of HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act. We have long had concerns about the contents of this bill, among them large subsidies for the nuclear industry.

We feel that EPA regulation of carbon emissions would be more effective and we hope the president does not back down due to challenges from Senators Murkowski and Landrieu. Both Murkowski and Landrieu have received large campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industries, and have shown that they are willing to prioritize corporate profits by big polluters ahead of the health, well-being, and future of our nation and our citizens.

Another workable solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a straight tax on carbon with the revenue returned to United States taxpayers on a per-capita basis. A similar proposal was put forward by Chris Van Hollen (MD), in his “cap-and-dividend” bill. These are the sorts of solutions that can reduce carbon emissions while helping ordinary Americans cope with inevitable price increases.

We need the Administration to continue to support energy efficiency measures and the development of renewable energy technologies, for a cleaner, safer, more prosperous future. We look forward to speedy action from the Obama Administration toward these goals.

More information:

video of Obama pledging not to subsidize the nuclear industry on the campaign trail

MIT study on nuclear energy