skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Lebanese children have been displaced; hospital facility fees have cost Colorado patients $13 billion; and a Wyoming county without a hospital is finally getting one.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas warns about false claims affecting FEMA's hurricane relief, Vice President Harris prepares for a Fox News interview, and local Democrats want more election funds in key states.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Hurricane Helene devastated the Appalachians and some rural towns worry larger communities could get more attention, ranked choice voting on the Oregon ballot next month gets mixed reviews, and New York farmers are earning extra money feeding school kids.

Report: Taxpayers 'Losing' on Subsidies for Nuclear Industry

play audio
Play

Monday, January 10, 2022   

To modernize the industry, nuclear power is making the transition toward smaller reactors. But a report from Taxpayers for Common Sense claims federal subsidies to help the industry along are a losing bet.

According to the group, the Department of Energy has spent more than $1.2 billion on small modular reactors, and could spend another $5.5 billion over the next decade to develop and demonstrate the new design.

Michael Maragos, senior policy analyst of energy and natural resources with Taxpayers for Common Sense, said there are a slew of supports for the nuclear industry up and down the supply chain.

"But the nuclear power industry is, by and large, struggling," said Maragos. "So there's this large dichotomy between what policymakers have hoped would happen through all of the various costly incentives and what is actually happening on the ground."

Part of the push to develop new technology in the nuclear industry is an effort to decarbonize power grids. Nuclear power is seen as a key source of clean energy in this transition.

The company NuScale Power is developing its small modular reactor technology at Idaho National Laboratory and has received federal investments. The Department of Energy did not respond to a request for comment before the deadline for this story.

The Idaho National Laboratory will be the site of the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems's Carbon Free Power Project. Current plans for the project consist of 12 small reactors that supply power to cities in six states, including Idaho.

However, Maragos noted that appetite could be waning for this project, which is targeting 2029 to go operational. Salmon River Electric in Challis has pulled out of the project and Idaho Falls has halved its commitment.

"We already see a number of towns that are supposedly going to be the ones benefiting from this brand-spanking new type of nuclear reactor shying away from the project," said Maragos. "And the reason is simple. It's going to cost a lot, probably more than we're expecting now, and ratepayers are going to be on the hook."

Maragos said the rate of federal subsidies for nuclear is unsustainable, noting money to transition the country to a cleaner economy would be better spent on technology such as solar and wind, which are cheaper to deploy.

"Nuclear power may provide some benefits in a world where we're trying to limit emissions from our power sector," said Maragos. "But those benefits are not worth the tremendous cost and risk that policymakers are asking ratepayers and taxpayers to bear."




get more stories like this via email
more stories
The Florida Association of Community Health Centers has a Disaster Relief Fund, which raises money to assist health center staff and their families in recovering from the devastation of hurricanes Helene and Milton. (Pixabay)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Following Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton left a trail of destruction across the Sunshine State and the combination has pushed some Community …


Social Issues

play sound

OutNebraska's Prairie Pride Film Festival returns for its 14th year this week. Johnny Redd, communications manager for OutNebraska, said the …

Health and Wellness

play sound

"Facility fees" originally meant to help struggling hospitals keep emergency room doors open 24 hours a day are now being applied to outpatient servic…


Health and Wellness

play sound

By Sarah Jane Tribble for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Kathleen Shannon for Wyoming News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News…

Though a Marist poll found 81% of New York City residents do not want Mayor Eric Adams to run again, campaign finance data show he has the most spending capital of all 2025 mayoral candidates. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New York City election integrity is under added scrutiny after Mayor Eric Adams' indictment. Part of the indictment alleges Adams broke campaign …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Providence Health and Services could close an at-home program enabling communication by people with diseases making it hard or impossible to speak…

Social Issues

play sound

Pennsylvania's landscape is undergoing a transformation, paid for with billions in federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and the …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021