CBO Report Finds Dept. of Energy Undercharging Energy Companies for Nuclear Loan Guarantees (xpost)

[bananas]

Posted by Jefferson23 in the editorials forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x618309

CBO Report Finds Dept. of Energy Undercharging Energy Companies for Nuclear Loan Guarantees
Ranking Cummings and Kucinich Request Meeting with Secretary Chu

Washington D.C. (August 3, 2011) – A new report released today from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows that the Department of Energy is dramatically undercharging energy companies for federal loan guarantees to build new nuclear reactors. The report, requested by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) last year as Chairman of the domestic policy panel of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, shows that the model used by the Department of Energy underestimates the risk of default of nuclear loans and undercharges energy companies for their guarantees.

Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today requested a meeting with Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu to discuss the CBO report and to discuss how to protect taxpayers from the cost of nuclear reaction loan defaults.

“ in light of CBO’s findings, the continued use of this current model to establish credit subsidy fees for nuclear reactor construction projects could expose taxpayers to the risk of billion dollar bailouts,” write Kucinich and Cummings.

The 2005 Energy Policy Act authorized the Department of Energy (DOE) to provide loan guarantees for new nuclear plant construction. The Obama Administration proposed tripling federal loan guarantees to $54.5 billion in its FY2011 and FY2012 budgets.

http://www.kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=254979

[Firebrand Gary]

1. I see hope here.

[bananas]

2. Even with the low rates, Entergy, Exelon, and Constellation decided "the numbers just don't work"

That's a quote from the CEO of Entergy,
Exelon and Constellation came to the same conclusion and abandoned their plans for new reactors.