Do we need new nuclear power plants? This past week President Obama announced that the Department of Energy is awarding $8 billion in loan guarantees to build a new nuclear reactor in the U.S. 
We haven’t built a new reactor in over thirty years. Just another Federal loan guaranty with taxpayer money going to the corporate giants Westinghouse, General Electric, and Exelon. These are huge players, and now we’re guaranteeing their loans to go build a nuclear power plant. What happened to Candidate Obama who stated that, “Before an expansion is considered, key issues must be addressed including: security of nuclear fuel and waste, waste storage, and proliferation.” Well where is that consideration? The issues have not been addressed. There is no place in this country to put nuclear waste. The Yucca Mountain project for storing spent fuel is a no go. Nuclear contamination exists in groundwater along the Connecticut River in Vermont from the Vermont Yankee Nuclear power plant. An issue that has only recently been acknowledged by the power plant operates. They even admit to lying to governmental agencies about that contamination. It’s funny how investing in a new nuclear power plant is deemed as a risky investment by private industry. Even the Congressional Budget Office deems the loan guarantees as high risk, stating that loan defaults could be as high as 50%. Obama’s new budge calls for $50 billion in loan guarantees to the nuclear industry. With such high probability of loan defaults why is he endorsing the potential for another massive loan bail out? Imaging what this current $8 billion in loan guarantees could do for the geothermal, wind, and solar industries. Wasn’t Obama supposedly one of the good guys on the environment? Where’s Al Gore when you need him? This administration should drop its plans for loan guarantees to these corporations. We do not need more nuclear power plants. We do not need another loan bailout program. We need a funded sustainable energy program.
Not only is investment a regressive move on Obama’s part, it also impedes the process of creating more jobs for an economy that is dire need of them. According to journalist Mark Hertsgaard in his environmental book Earth Odyssey, “…Investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy yield two to ten times as many jobs as investments in fossil fuel and nuclear power do” (300).