A bipartisan group of Senators led by Kay Bailey Hutchison has signed a letter to Senators Dorgan and Bennett, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, urging them to increase funding for a 2005 program that would provide loan guarantees for companies seeking to build nuclear power plants. According to the letter, there are currently 26 applications pending for new reactors in 15 states. But the current energy bill has allocated $18.5 billion for loan guarantees, enough for only three reactors according to signatories Hutchison, Burr, Landrieu, Lugar, Bill Nelson, Graham, Cornyn, Martinez, Sessions, Wicker, Risch, and Vitter. But it’s not all bad news. Even though Obama campaign against the use of Yucca mountain as the nation’s nuclear waste repository, and even though his secretary of energy says that Yucca mountain is no longer an option, the Obama administration still proposed $200 million for Yucca in FY2010. Even the projects Obama kills still get funding, so maybe Congress will be convinced to throw a few billion more toward the only non-carbon emitting power source that actually works. The full letter after the jump…
The Honorable Byron Dorgan The Honorable Robert Bennett Chairman Ranking Member Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee The Capitol, S-128 The Capitol, S-128 Washington, D.C., 20510 Washington, D.C., 20510 Dear Chairman Dorgan and Ranking Member Bennett: Unstable energy costs are taxing our economy and leaving us dangerously dependent on foreign sources of energy. The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) projects that our need for electricity will increase 25 percent by 2030. To fulfill our growing energy demands, we must work together to develop a long-term, domestic energy portfolio, which ensures that America will have the power it needs to meet this growing demand. Nuclear power can provide the clean electricity we need to power our homes, small businesses, and communities. European nations like France, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, and Asian countries like Japan, have developed nuclear plants as a safe and cost effective source of power over the last three decades. Nuclear power currently supplies only one-fifth of the U.S. demand for electricity. No new U.S. reactors have been ordered since the 1970s, and the most recent nuclear reactor to begin operations was 10 years ago. Nuclear energy is clean, safe, cost-effective and can play a critical role in reducing America’s carbon emissions if we develop it. For the benefit of our nation, we must take action to ensure we do not continue to squander the potential that nuclear power has for our Country. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized the DoE to issue loan guarantees through Title XVII to over a dozen technologies including nuclear power. Title XVII has helped to revitalize the nuclear industry in the U.S. and the last two years have proven that. A principal purpose of the Title XVII loan guarantee program is to encourage early commercial use of these technologies, and private industry has responded by filing over 17 applications for 26 new nuclear reactors. Currently, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has applications pending in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, Utah and Idaho. It is important to note that these sites have submitted a(n): safety analysis report, emergency plan, environmental report, site readiness plan and security plan among other reports in their application, and now require funding in order to move forward. Nuclear power plants are only allocated $18.5 billion in loan guarantees, enough for about three reactors. This level of funding is insufficient and will reduce the likelihood that we are able to expand on our nuclear capability. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, we ask that you ensure that the DoE Loan Guarantee Program has the necessary funds to further develop nuclear power for the country with these 17 applications. We look forward to working with you on this important issue and thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,
