June 18, 2009: New study finds that it would cost taxpayers and ratepayers $1.9 trillion to $4.1 trillion more over the life of 100 new nuclear reactors than it would to generate the same electricity from a combination of more energy efficiency and renewables.

May 22, 2009: Comparison of Senate and House “Clean Energy Bank” proposals from Physicians for Social Responsibility.

March 17, 2009: Letter to President Obama from national environmental groups urging no more nuclear loan guarantees.

March 2009: Nuclear Loan Guarantees: Another Taxpayer Bailout Ahead? New report from Union of Concerned Scientists warns that the risk to taxpayers of loan guarantees for new reactors could total $360 Billion to $1.6 Trillion.

February 4, 2009: 243 grassroots groups/small businesses urge Senate to drop nuclear/coal loan guarantees from stimulus bill.

February 2, 2009: Letter from Washington-based groups in opposition to $50 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors and "clean coal" technologies.

January 30, 2009: Senate Appropriators Lard President Obama's Stimulus Package With Up To $50 Billion In Nuclear Reactor Pork. NIRS Press Release.

January 2009: Business Risks and Costs of New Nuclear Power, a new study by CPA Craig Severance, finds that escalating reactor construction and operating costs could lead to electricity from new nukes as high as 25-30 cents per kw/h—significantly higher than industry estimates.

September 11, 2008: PSR analysis of the huge new nuclear subsidies—including unlimited taxpayer loan guarantees for new reactors--in the “Gang of 10” energy bill, due for a Senate vote in mid-September. And you thought the Gang of 10 bill was only about offshore oil drilling……Stay tuned here for more info.

September 5, 2008: The Brave New World of Nuclear Power Economics, an article by NIRS executive director Michael Mariotte

June 30, 2008: The Department of Energy has issued a solicitation for applications for its loan guarantee program authorized by Congress in late 2007. This solicitation is for $30.5 billion in taxpayer-backed loan guarantees, and includes $18.5 billion for new atomic reactors, $2 billion for front-end nuclear fuel cycle facilities (uranium enrichment plant), and $10 billion for renewable energy, energy efficiency and transmission projects. You can read the reactor solicitation here; the fuel cycle solicitation here; and the renewables/efficiency/transmission solicitation here.

Chart submitted by Florida Power and Light to the Florida Public Service Commission showing cost estimates for two new reactors at Turkey Point ranging from $12.1 Billion to $24.3 Billion.

April 3, 2008: Nuclear Power Plant Electricity: A Simple Costing Manual. This is a basic primer from energy consultant Philip D. Lusk that shows how to calculate the kilowatt/hour cost of electricity from a new nuclear reactor. Under the model’s fairly universal assumptions, the cost of electricity from a standard new reactor will be about 19.75 cents per kw/h. Most renewable and efficiency projects would be well below this number, and on an economic basis alone should be implemented first.

March 21, 2008: Testimony of former NRC Commissioner Peter Bradford to South Carolina PSC on the economics of Duke Power’s proposed Lee reactors, nuclear power and climate and more. Very useful!

February 6, 2008: Analysis of FY 2009 Department of Energy Budget, by Robert Alvarez of Institute for Policy Studies.

Think New Atomic Reactors Can be Built Cheaply and On-time? Think Again! February 2008

January 28, 2008: Mid-American Nuclear Energy cancels plans to build new reactor in Idaho, citing poor economics of nuclear power. This is especially significant because Mid-American is owned by financier Warren Buffett—if he can’t figure out how to make money on a reactor, who can?

January 2008: World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2007. A new report commissioned by Greens in the European Parliament concludes—contrary to assertions of a nuclear resurgence—that “the number of nuclear power plants operating in the world will most likely decline over the next two decades with a rather sharper decline to be expected after 2020.” The report focuses on the continued poor economics of nuclear power as well as its lack of infrastructure and manufacturing capacity.

November 15, 2007: 14 top energy company beneficiaries of nuclear loan guarantees spent $48 million on lobbying. Co-Op America news release.

November 1, 2007: Fact sheet on Senate provision on taxpayer loan guarantees for new reactors, prepared by coalition of organizations.

October 31, 2007: Letter from taxpayer groups to Senate on nuclear loan guarantees.

October 30, 2007: Issue brief on taxpayer loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors, from Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

EESI sponsored a Congressional briefing on loan guarantees on October 30; presentations from former NRC Commissioner Peter Bradford, economist Jim Harding, and Government Accounting Office, click here.

October 17, 2007: The current Energy Bill could give unlimited authority to the Department of Energy (with no further congressional oversight) to award federal guarantees to commercial banks that finance both new nuclear and also coal to liquid construction projects. A broad alliance of groups have produced fact sheets that you can use for background in letters to the editor, calls to congress and educating your friends:
Controversial Loan Guarantees in Current Energy Bill
Why Wall Street Wants American Taxpayers  to Finance Nuclear Power
Foreign Companies to Benefit from U.S. Taxpayer Loan Guarantees
Energy Bill Provisions Undermine Constitutional Safeguards on Taxpayer Purse
Nuclear Power Loan Assistance Will Gobble Up Money For Innovative Technologies

Presentation by David Schlissel of Synapse Energy Economics before the Utah State Legislature Public Utilities and Technology Committee on The Risks of Building New Nuclear Power Plants. Very good primer on nuclear economics with data on the economic pitfalls and problems that await a new generation of reactors. Presentation made September 17, 2007.

Testimony of Mary Olson, Director of NIRS' Southeast office, on North Carolina Senate Bill 3 and "Construction Work in Progress." July 16, 2007

Rep. Upton Seeks $5 Billion Taxpayer Subsidy for New Nuclear Reactors: Critics Charge He's Doing Nuclear Power Industry's. NIRS press release.June 21, 2007

New Greenpeace report on the economics of nuclear power finds that that nuclear power is neither a practical nor economically viable solution to tackling climate change. May 1, 2007

Seven Myths of the Nuclear Renaissance. Presentation by utility economist Jim Harding on the continued failure of nuclear economics. March 7, 2007 Includes a Powerpoint presentation and accompanying speech in pdf format.

Why New Nukes are Risky. Coalition briefing paper on the economic risks of nuclear power, presented to Wall Street analysts. July 8, 2006

Heinrich Boell Foundation Issue Paper No. 5. The Economics of Nuclear Power: Is nuclear power economically viable? What are the insecurities in such calculations? By Steve Thomas, University of Greenwich

Nuclear Power: the Energy Balance -- a comprehensive report, including data, calculations and graphs, on the life-cycle costs -- in money, energy and carbon emissions of nuclear power, and the nuclear waste generated.

Information on the magnitude of subsidies to nuclear power in the United States from Earth Track. This material was presented at a recent symposium on nuclear power and climate change hosted by the Nuclear Policy Research Institute.