obama said to seek $54 billion nuclear-power, page-14

Issue is definitely hotting up, Tuesday morning our time...will be interesting to see the level of resitance to this push, I think those opposed are running out of reasoning capacity in light of the global warming issue.

Note also the sentence "a good first step toward expanding our use of clean nuclear energy."

Obama moves quickly to promote nuclear power

Jan 30, 2010

President Obama, who called for a "new generation" of nuclear power plants in his State of the Union address Wednesday, is quickly moving forward. He created a panel Friday to recommend ways to dispose of used nuclear fuel and is expected Monday to propose tripling loan guarantees for new plant construction.

His call for new nuclear power plants has angered some environmentalists and Democratic supporters, as noted in a prior post, but welcomed by nuclear industry lobbyists, including former Environmental Protection Agency chief Christine Todd Whitman, now co-chair of the CASEnergy Coalition.

Currently, 104 commercial nuclear power plants provide 20% of U.S. electricity, according to the Department of Energy. They produce no carbon emissions, but their operation and used nuclear fuel raise safety questions.

Analysts see Obama's pitch to expand U.S. nuclear expacity as an effort to win GOP support for his legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, passed by the House of Representatives but pending in the Senate.

"Nuclear energy has long been the drumbeat for Republican lawmakers on how to reduce greenhouse gases," Josh Margolis, an executive at CantorCO2e, a carbon broker, tells Reuters. "This should help win votes from those lawmakers who doubted the sincerity of those who advocated for climate change goals."

Several news reports, including one by Bloomberg, cite administration officials saying Obama will ask Congress in his 2011 budget -- to be unveiled Monday -- for $54 billion in loan guarantees to build new nuclear plants, up from the $18.5 billion now available.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee, tells Reuters that these extra loan guarantees are "a good first step toward expanding our use of clean nuclear energy."

To assuage environmentalists' concerns, Obama also wants to ensure that used nuclear fuel is safely stored.

He promised last year to create a panel to study long-term storage after deciding not to pursue Nevada's Yucca Mountain, which federal law has designated as the nation's first site for storing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Nevada politicians have opposed Yucca Mountain.

In a memo Friday, posted on WhiteHouse.gov, Obama asked Energy Secretary Steven Chu to launch a Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. He explained why:

Expanding our Nation's capacity to generate clean nuclear energy is crucial to our ability to combat climate change, enhance energy security, and increase economic prosperity. My Administration is undertaking substantial steps to expand the safe, secure, and responsible use of nuclear energy...

An important part of a sound, comprehensive, and long-term domestic nuclear energy strategy is a well-considered policy for managing used nuclear fuel and other aspects of the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Yet the Nation's approach, developed more than 20 years ago, to managing materials derived from nuclear activities, including nuclear fuel and nuclear waste, has not proven effective. Fortunately, over the past two decades scientists and engineers in our country and abroad have learned a great deal about effective strategies for managing nuclear material.

Chu announced that the panel will be co-chaired by former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft. Its 15 members will provide an interim report within 18 months and a final report in 24 months.

"As the world moves to tackle climate change and diversify our national energy portfolio, nuclear energy will play a vital role," Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, said as the panel's members were announced. She added:

Today, the Obama Administration has taken an important step. With the creation of the Blue Ribbon Commission, we are bringing together leading experts from around the country to ensure a safe and sustainable nuclear energy future.

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