U.S. Government Will Back Loans For Nuclear Power
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced a multibillion-dollar loan guarantee Wednesday for building nuclear reactors in Georgia, underscoring the White House's plan for an "all of the above" energy strategy.
The two reactors will be the first built in this country in nearly three decades.
President Obama "sees nuclear energy as a part of his carbon-free portfolio" that also includes renewable energy sources, Moniz said during a speech at the National Press Club in Washington. "We are working across the board to push the technology forward into the marketplace for all of our energy sources."
Moniz said he would finalize the loans on Thursday during a trip to Georgia.
The announcement brought quick criticism from some environmentalists.
In a statement, Katherine Fuchs of Friends of the Earth pointed to a nuclear disaster in Japan. "Fewer than three years have passed since the tragedy at Fukushima demonstrated that nuclear reactors can never be safe. Yet the president and energy secretary are ignoring its lessons," Fuchs said.
But Moniz said the administration wants to fight climate change by encouraging development of an array of energy sources that have lower carbon emissions. This particular effort to help nuclear energy has been pending since February 2010 when the White House gave conditional approval for loan guarantees for a nuclear power project in Waynesboro, Ga.
Energy
Environmentalists Split Over Need For Nuclear Power