President Obama has requested a tripling of the amount of federal loan guarantees available to spur the construction of new nuclear generating plants. The White House included $54 billion in loan guarantees in its fiscal year 2011 budget request, compared with the $18.5 billion that is currently available. The administration announced on 16 February the first loan guarantees, to Southern Co, which plans to add two reactors to a plant in Georgia.
In a separate action, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the formation of an independent commission to come up with a solution to the nation’s nuclear waste disposal problem. He told reporters on 29 January that nuclear energy “must play a role” in meeting the need for carbon-free base-load electricity generation. The 15-member commission is to be cochaired by Lee Hamilton, former indiana Democratic representative, and Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser to presidents George H. W. Bush...
