nuclear-news

Georgia, USA, awaiting huge government loan guarantee for new nuclear reactors

A Giant Nuclear Project Awaits Its Federal Loans, NYT, By MATTHEW L. WALD, 23 Sept 11,  Federal help for energy projects has taken it on the chin lately, with Solyndra, the California solar manufacturer championed by the Obama administration, declaring bankruptcy after taking $528 million in loans from the Treasury.

But a much larger federal loan guarantee for an energy project is expected soon: $8.3 billion in loan guarantees announced last year by President Obama for two nuclear reactors in Georgia…..

The commission issued a final safety evaluation last month that drew fervent objections from anti-nuclear groups.

A few years ago, when the price of natural gas, a competing fuel, was high and many people predicted that the federal government would impose a price on carbon dioxide emissions, the nuclear industry thought Vogtle would be in the vanguard of a new generation of reactors in a so-called nuclear renaissance. Then natural gas prices declined and the impetus faded. And concerns about nuclear safety have grown since the disaster in March at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant…. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/a-giant-nuclear-project-awaits-its-federal-loans/

September 23, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA