No Nuke Subsidies: Let the Free Market Work

The Institute for Energy Research explains why nuke subsidies in Pennsylvania are a terrible idea and why we should just let the free market work.

There are currently bills working their way through the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate that would provide subsidies to help prop-up unprofitable nuclear power plants in the state. Senate Bill 510 and House Bill 11 would declare nuclear energy to be a carbon-free energy source, allowing it to receive benefits under the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS).

Currently, Pennsylvania’s existing Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard program requires 18 percent of electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2021. Those sources are currently split into two tiers that carve out guaranteed market shares for different types of renewable energy. The new legislation would create a third tier for nuclear energy credits and require distribution companies to purchase those credits for half of their electricity sold.

Stop compounding government intervention

These new proposals come in the wake of previous efforts to achieve similar policies at the federal level. Last year, the Department of Energy made two efforts to provide cost recovery (subsidies) for at-risk coal and nuclear power plants, however, these programs never got off the ground.

Read more:

https://naturalgasnow.org/no-nuke-subsidies-let-the-free-market-work/