US Plans To Give Nuclear Industry USD 36 Billion Loan Guarantee Boost
Written by NucNet
Tuesday, 02 February 2010
The US Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday released a fiscal year 2011 budget request that increases by 36 billion US dollars (USD) (25.7 billion euro) the amount of federal loan guarantees to be accessed by companies planning to build new nuclear power plants.
The DOE plans to increase the amount of loan guarantees available for nuclear power projects from the USD 18.5 billion currently allotted to USD 54.5 billion.
The budget news comes just days after president Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address that the US needs to build “a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants.”
The president’s call for new nuclear plant construction and the budget’s tripling of loan guarantee volume for new nuclear plants “is a tremendously positive development for our nation,” said US Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) president and chief executive officer Marvin Fertel.
Announcing the proposed budget, energy secretary Steven Chu said seven to ten new nuclear reactor units could be built under the expanded loan guarantee programme. Mr Chu said the programme would help launch a revival of new nuclear energy development.
Loan guarantees are designed to boost investor confidence and allow projects to move ahead with debt financing on more reasonable terms that will ultimately lower the overall cost of electricity generated by those projects.
The DOE also confirmed that it plans to terminate the deep geological repository project at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
The department is seeking USD 98.4 million in Nuclear Waste Fund money for waste-related activities in fiscal year 2011. The request is roughly half of the USD 197 million the programme received this fiscal year.
The budget proposal instructs the DOE to discontinue the licence application for Yucca Mountain.
