Nuclear energy is a hot topic in Washington these days. An important question that has stirred debate is whether the federal government should back up loans to build new nuclear power plants. On Wednesday, the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on the topic. Heritage Research Fellow for Nuclear Energy Policy, Jack Spencer along with three other panelists testified. One member of the panel, Leslie Kass of the Nuclear Energy Institute, argued that loan guarantees were good for ratepayers, taxpayers, and the nuclear …
Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development last Wednesday, Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu acknowledged to the committee that he explicitly directed the Blue Ribbon Commission charged with recommending a nuclear waste storage policy to the Obama Administration to strike the Yucca Mountain repository from its purview. This is unfortunate, as considering Yucca would add significant credibility to the recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Commission, which held its first meeting last week. By asking the committee not even to consider Yucca Mountain, the Administration is solidifying …
As the Obama administration makes it clear they want to pursue a carbon capping policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the French government announced that it would abandon plans to impose a similar carbon tax on domestic energy and transportation fuels. The reason for the French government’s change of tune is obvious. Sarkozy’s party knows that the carbon tax, which would have raised gasoline prices by 17 cents per gallon and domestic gas bills by 7 percent, would have significantly harmed the intra-continental and international competitiveness of French businesses and …
The state of California likes to sell itself as a leader in the transition to a green economy. The only problem is, their policies are making that transition harder—and they’re not producing the job boom that politicians have been promising. The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) recently reviewed the impact of the state’s 2006 climate change legislation, which mandated a cut in GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. A letter from the LAO to the state senator that requested the analysis stated that the aggregate net jobs impact of …
In a highly publicized decision last week, the Vermont Senate voted to potentially close the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, the state’s only nuclear plant. The non-binding vote marked the culmination of a year-long debate in Vermont as to whether the state should renew the operating license of Vermont Yankee, a 37-year old plant that is seeking a 20-year operating extension. Unfortunately, this decision was more about perception than fact. The tide had been turning against Vermont Yankee as news emerged that the plant had been leaking tritium, a weakly …
