Management Information Services updated its 2012 study on federal energy incentives. The 2017 study revealed that though billions of dollars in incentives distributed to the energy industry came in various forms, only 8 percent was spent on nuclear energy.
The study covers all incentives, including tax breaks, regulation exemptions and technology transfer from government to industry, and breaks down the incentives by technology type.
Key Points
- The findings indicate that oil, gas, hydro, solar, wind and biomass received more than 90 percent of all incentives provided since 1950.
- The federal government’s primary support for nuclear energy development has been in the form of research and development (R&D) programs.
- For the last 20 years, federal spending on R&D for coal and for renewables has exceeded spending on nuclear energy R&D.
- Over the past six years, 2011 through 2016, renewable energy received more than three times as much help in federal incentives as oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear combined, and 27 times as much as nuclear energy.