Yahoo News 17 Feb 10;
LANHAM, Maryland (AFP) – President Barack Obama Tuesday laid an eight billion dollar bet on nuclear power, unveiling loan guarantees to spur construction on the first new US plant since a notorious accident 30 years ago.
Obama said nuclear power, despite concerns among some environmentalists over safety, must play a key role in an energy policy designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and wean the United States off foreign oil from volatile regions.
"On an issue which affects our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we cannot continue to be mired in the same old debates between left and right, between environmentalists and entrepreneurs," Obama said.
"We?ll have to build a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in America," he told journalists on a visit to a training center focusing on clean energy and low carbon energy technologies outside Washington.
"We are announcing roughly eight billion dollars in loan guarantees to break ground on the first new nuclear plant in our country in nearly three decades."
The loan guarantees will go towards the construction of two new 1,100 megawatt nuclear reactors at an existing nuclear facility in Burke, Georgia, the White House said.
At a time of economic blight when the administration is trying to create a new generation of clean energy jobs, Obama said the investment in nuclear power would pay off in employment opportunities in years to come.
"It's a plant that will create thousands of construction jobs in the next few years and some 800 permanent jobs, well-paying permanent jobs, in the years to come. And this is only the beginning," Obama said.
The president also warned that America's competitors were beating it to the punch on nuclear energy, specifically mentioning long-term investments by Japan and France in the industry.
He said of 56 nuclear reactors being built around the world, 21 are in China, six in South Korea, and five in India -- some of the key economies he most often mentions as trailblazing rivals to the United States.
"To meet our growing energy needs and prevent the worst consequences of climate change, we'll need to increase our supply the nuclear power. It's that simple.
"Make no mistake: whether it is nuclear energy, or solar or wind energy, if we fail to invest in these technologies today, we?ll be importing them tomorrow."
Obama's move uses a 2005 law that authorizes the Energy Department to guarantee loans to projects that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
There are two broad areas of opposition to Obama's bet on nuclear power -- first among taxpayer watchdog groups who oppose the spending on terms of scale and likely impact.
Secondly, some environmentalists oppose the idea of expanding nuclear power on safety grounds and on principle, arguing that funds should be transferred to other sources of alternative energy.
The campaign group Beyond Nuclear criticized Obama's decision as "utterly irresponsible" and warned of safety concerns over the two new reactors, adding that they were vulnerable to hurricanes or tornados or terror attacks.
Obama has also raised hackles among some in his Democratic Party by signaling a willingness to look at expanding offshore oil and gas drilling -- a key rallying point for Republicans.
There have been no new nuclear power plants built in the United States since the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania.
Currently only 20 percent of the country's energy needs are met by nuclear power.
The operation will result in some 3,000 construction jobs, and eventually some 850 permanent jobs, officials say, citing company figures.
Obama said the plant would reduce carbon pollution by 16 million tons each year when compared to a similar coal plant -- the equivalent of taking 3.5 million cars off the road.
When the new nuclear reactors come on line, they will be capable of providing the power needs for 550,000 homes or 1.4 million people, officials said.
The president's 2011 budget unveiled earlier this month contains authority for 36 billion dollars in new loan authority for the construction of new nuclear power plants in addition to 18 billion dollars already authorized.
"We do expect to be making more announcements," US Energy Secretary Steven Chu told reporters, cautioning however that the process of commissioning new reactors took time and was highly complicated.
Obama Steps Up Nuclear Investment
Jeff Mason, PlanetArk 17 Feb 10;
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama announced $8.3 billion in loan guarantees on Tuesday to build the first U.S. nuclear power plant in nearly three decades in a move designed to help advance climate legislation in Congress.
Obama, a Democrat who is trying to win Republican support for a bill to overhaul U.S. energy practices, said the United States needed to increase its supply of nuclear power to meet its energy needs and fight climate change.
The government backing, in the form of a loan guarantee, will go to help Southern Co. build two reactors at a plant in Georgia state.
"Even though we've not broken ground on a ... new nuclear power plant in 30 years, nuclear energy remains our largest source of fuel that produces no carbon emissions," Obama said after touring a union education center in Lanham, Maryland.
"To meet our growing energy needs and prevent the worst consequences of climate change, we'll need to increase our supply of nuclear power. It's that simple," he said.
Obama is pushing for a law that would cap greenhouse gas emissions from industry and expand the use of renewable fuel sources such as wind and solar.
The administration hopes that by reaching out to Republicans on the nuclear issue -- a top priority for key opposition lawmakers such as former presidential candidate John McCain -- support for the stalled bill will grow.
That hope may not come to fruition.
Republicans are eager to expand nuclear power and offshore drilling but are resistant to Obama's proposal for a greenhouse gas emissions trading system similar to the European Union's.
Obama said the climate bill, which contains a cap-and-trade system, would help create incentives for cleaner fuels such as nuclear. He said his administration would work to develop what he saw as common ground on the bill with Republicans.
"We're not going to achieve a big boost in nuclear capacity unless we also create a system of incentives to make clean energy profitable," Obama said.
"As long as producing carbon pollution carries no cost, traditional plants that use fossil fuels will be more cost-effective than plants that use nuclear fuel."
EPA FIGHT, BOOST FOR SOUTHERN
Obama's Democrats and opposition Republicans are at odds over several aspects of how to fight climate change.
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is spearheading legislation that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency having the power to regulate greenhouse gases -- an option Obama is preserving if Congress does not act.
As well some entities, such as Texas, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, are initiating legal challenges to stop the EPA from acting unilaterally on greenhouse emissions.
Carol Browner, the president's top energy and climate advisor, said the White House would oppose any move to limit the EPA's regulatory authority.
"We will work against that. We do not want to see that passed," she told Reuters Insider in an interview.
Expanding nuclear energy is one area Obama and Republicans have embraced as a way to generate power and create jobs.
Atlanta-based Southern, a leading U.S. producer of electricity, welcomed the nuclear announcement. Its shares rose 1.6 percent. The administration said the project would generate 3,500 construction jobs and 800 permanent positions once the reactors go into operation.
"It's an important endorsement in the role nuclear power must play in diversifying our nation's energy mix and helping to curb greenhouse gas emissions," Southern Chief Executive David Ratcliffe said in a statement.
Supporters of nuclear power argue more reactors will be needed for the United States to tackle global warming effectively because nuclear is a much cleaner energy source than coal-fired power plants, which spew greenhouse gases.
Nuclear power is controversial, however, because of its radioactive waste, which is now stored on site at reactor locations around the country. Remembering the 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, many Americans still harbor concerns about nuclear power's safety.
Obama said a commission with Republican and Democratic leaders and nuclear experts was examining the waste issue.
The two reactors, which some experts estimate will cost $8.8 billion to build, could be in service in 2016 and 2017.
Southern has one of the largest fleets of coal-fired power plants in the nation and would suffer if Washington were to institute restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the department plans to offer loan guarantees to at least half a dozen projects but declined to lay out a timeframe for further announcements.
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
