Thanks for the detail on it, but there is still a govt guarantee on top of the pool to make it work.
And how many billions of taxpayer dollars went into Yucca Mountain, which is a huge support to the industry?
I very much support Yucca Mountain and rapid development of nuke plants, btw. Just saying people ought not get up in arms that the PTC credit for wind energy is some huge pork check, or something way out of proportion compared to govt support in other areas of the energy industry.
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1986 provided for industry-funding of the development of Yucca Mountain. The DOE collects a millage on every kwhr of nuclear-generated electricity to provide for waste management. There is no taxpayer funding. It is consumer-funded, but then again everything in our economy ultimately is funded by the consumer. It is also interesting that the nuclear industry is the only industry required by law to plan for it's own decommissioning and waste disposal. Coal-fired plants, gas turbines, windmills, solar panels, oil refineries, steel mills, factories, chemical plants, all of these other industries don't have the same requirements for decommissioning/waste disposal as the nuclear industry.
Here's another thing not a lot of people know: the nuclear industry pays essentially 100% of the cost for the government to regulate it. Essentially all of the NRC's budget is covered by licensing fees paid by licensees. The industry essentially pays for the "privilege" of being regulated by the government. I know that's not true of things like the broadcast industry (FCC fees don't cover the budget of the FCC), the airline industry (the FAA), and industries regulated by EPA. But it's interesting that the nuclear industry is singled out in this manner.