Obama's Energy Secretary Chu's support for new nuclear power is making waves among several companies competing for DOE loans to build new nukes. Chu has said he will move quickly to get the loan guarantee program up and running this year.As we move to the green side on some items in the stimulus bill on another front Obama follows what for all the world looks like a small part of the Cheney energy task force recommendations .Some funds previously designated and not from the stimulus package will be used for loan guarantees to build new nuclear power plants .Major green energy-related portions of the stimulus law were largely left intact and large portions proposed for nuclear power were cut after Congressional debate,but new nuclear power plant planning and funding still grinds along.
Regarding the storage of spent fuel someone present with Secretary Chu,at a meeting concerning permitting Yucca Mountain storage facility is quoted as saying “It sounded like the expectation is (nuclear waste) will be stored at sites for a long time,” said one participant who asked not to be identified since it was a private meeting. Giving a post 9/11 nod to security concerns Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Wednesday Nuclear power plants will likely add fortifications to future atomic power stations despite the cost involved ,according to CNN. Nothing was mentioned about how this new safety concern may effect old plants still in use .
The field of U.S. companies competing for $18.5 billion in government-backed loans to build new nuclear plants has narrowed to five from about 14 last year, company sources said
Last year, developers of 14 new nuclear plants requested DOE guarantees totaling $122 billion, far exceeding the program's budget, the agency said. Several companies dropped out of the running in December, leaving at least 10 projects seeking federal support. The DOE process will determine which new reactors get built and only two or three will be built .
Federal loan guarantees are expected to jump-start interest in building new reactors, after massive cost overruns during the last nuclear boom and the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania left utilities hesitant to build new plants.
With a cost of $5 billion to $12 billion for each new reactor, depending on size and design, the DOE program is expected to fund only a few projects, but the guarantee is seen as critical to obtaining financing
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