Warren Buffet leans on US taxpayer to get a nuclear power plant built

Travis Hoium, writing for The Motley Fool, takes Warren Buffet to task for leaning on government financing to get a new nuclear power plant built.

Iowa state legislature is considering granting MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, financing to pay for a 540 MW nuclear plant, financing that will come out of ratepayer’s utility charges.

Houim believes this is a terrible idea:

The nuclear industry is attempting to expand the use of something called Construction Work in Progress, or CWIP, legal in only a few states, for financing of nuclear plants. Essentially what this means is that while a plant is being constructed, a utility can charge its customers for financing costs.

If nuclear power can’t be built with traditional financing and without government backing, I’m wondering why we’re still pursuing it.

Read more here.