Stimulus Package Should Not Include Loan Guarantees for Nuclear and Coal
Letter from UCS and other Organizations to the House and Senate Conferees Regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1)
On February 10, 2009, UCS co-signed a letter to House and Senate Conferees with 20 other organizations calling for the rejection of subsidies for nuclear power and liquid coal in the stimulus package.
Background:
The Senate version of the stimulus package added an additional $50 billion in loan guarantees to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1) to support energy technologies authorized under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The vast majority of this authorization would likely go to nuclear power and liquid coal. The nuclear industry has applied for $122 billion in loan guarantees to construct 21 new nuclear reactors, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Instead stimulus funding should invest in renewables, efficiency and conservation measures that can be deployed in the near-term, at low risk, and that will lead us to a clean and sustainable future.
