No More Tax Dollars for Nuclear Power!

Three years ago, the Obama Administration made a conditional loan guarantee offer of $8.3 billion to the Vogtle nuclear project. The Vogtle project would be the first new nuclear project built in this country in nearly 30 years and would represent a tremendous setback to a real clean energy future. 

We know that nuclear reactors are a dirty, dangerous, and expensive means to produce energy and that renewables are making strides every day which make nuclear reactors an unnecessary and undesirable energy choice. Our precious taxpayer dollars should be spent on the most cost-effective solution -- energy efficiency upgrades.

The Vogtle project is beset with all sorts of problems, including construction delays and cost overruns. Its reactor design, the AP-1000, has not been built in the US before, has neither been successfully completed or operated anywhere in the world, and its application before the NRC took 19 alterations to meet basic safety standards before it was approved. NRC has cited improper installation of the concrete foundation and faulty rebar, signaling a worryingly lax attitude towards public safety on the part of the operators. 

The loan guarantee would be coming out of the controversial and troubled Title XVII program, which has been marked by bad investments and huge taxpayer losses. The Obama administration extended the deadline for finalizing the conditional loan guarantee agreement to September 30, 2013. The project and the loan guarantee represent a huge step backwards from a real clean energy future with huge potential risks to public health and safety, as well as taxpayer dollars.

Tell President Obama to cancel the Vogtle loan guarantee agreement. Taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for a project that moves us away from our climate change goals and represents huge risks to public health and safety.