In my ample time (god, I love summer vacation!), I've been doing some more searching for information on the nuclear energy industry. This whole discussion has been a real learning process, and I'm grateful to all of the participants for the information they've submitted.
Now, I do have contact with a person or two at Grist magazine, but I had no idea that Umbra would be addressing energy subsidies in her column today. The question that brought about her response focused on subsidies to the oil industry, but Umbra's response provides a nice overview of the types of subsidies out there. One source she pointed out that I've found useful is Earth Track, a site devoted to "[developing] comprehensive and accurate information on government interventions in energy markets." That sounds innocuous enough, but I'm sure that Earth Track's position on subsidies to Big Energy is similar to my own (that is, they're suspicious of them). So, yes, there's bias here. At the same time, there's also ample documentation of the sources used to develop their positions, much like that used by NEI in their position statements (as David pointed out).
With that said, I'd like to point you to a PDF document issued by Earth Talk along with several other environmental and taxpayer groups entitled Overview of Nuclear Subsidies in the 2005 Energy Bill. This four-page document is quite wonky, but presents the facts from the Energy Bill in language even this non-specialist can understand. I will say that I'm unsure if this overview directly addresses the bill that came out of conference committee and passed last week -- I realize their could be differences between the draft analyzed and the bill passed.
With that said, I'd love to hear your comments. We've had a wonderful, cordial discussion here, and I'd really like to see it continue...
Technorati tags: nuclear power, subsidies
