STATEMENT: Federal government renews policy that shifts financial risk of nuclear accident onto taxpayers

WASHINGTON — Today President Biden signed an appropriations bill that renewed a long-standing limit on liability for nuclear power plant owners, protecting the industry from losses in the event of a major accident.  This liability cap, sometimes referred to as the Price-Anderson Act, ensures that taxpayers assume the risk of a major nuclear accident. 

Under the renewed Price-Anderson Act, the nuclear industry is liable for only the first $16.1 billion damages in the event of a nuclear accident. Damages to the public from the Fukushima nuclear disaster exceed $90 billion. The full value of the Price-Anderson nuclear subsidy is difficult to estimate, but if nuclear operators had to carry the full cost of insurance against a nuclear accident, the plants would most likely become uneconomic to build.

Per dollar of investment, clean energy solutions – such as energy efficiency and renewable resources – deliver far more energy than nuclear power. Utility-scale solar’s capacity now eclipses that of nuclear.

Congress last extended the Price Anderson Act in 2005. With this appropriations bill, Congress extended the subsidy for an additional 40 years – through December 31, 2065.

In response, Johanna Neumann, senior director of Environment America’s Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy, issued the following statement:

“Nuclear power is among the most costly approaches to solving America’s energy problems. If the nuclear industry is going to insist on building new nuclear reactors, those companies and their shareholders should shoulder the financial risk if something goes wrong with their plants, not the American taxpayer. Congress should have repealed the Price-Anderson Act, not extended it. It’s time to stop saddling taxpayers with the financial risk of something going wrong at a nuclear plant.

Instead of propping up risky, costly, centralized power generation, Congress should direct resources towards cost-effective distributed energy resources. Energy efficiency improvements, combined with wind and solar, will deliver more bang for the buck and a greener, healthier America.”

###

Note:  

To find the information about utility-scale solar capacity eclipsing that of nuclear power, visit FERC’s 7-page “Energy Infrastructure Update for January 2024 at https://cms.ferc.gov/media/energy-infrastructure-update-january-2024 and see the tables entitled “New Generation In-Service (New Build and Expansion),” “Total Available Installed Generating Capacity,” and “Generation Capacity Additions and Retirements.”