Nuclear power industry revamps climate pitch for Trump era
The right-leaning R Street Institute released a report this week that found no economic justification for financially supporting reactors that have been disadvantaged by cheap natural gas, state clean energy programs and federal tax incentives for wind.
Addressing the threat of climate change and air pollution, the group says, would be a central argument. “The only legitimate concern that nuclear retirements are premature is that electricity markets do not fully account for the external ‘social cost’ of pollution,” wrote Devin Hartman, a senior fellow at the institute. “There is no evidence of an imminent threat to bulk reliability to justify interim subsidies.”
