President Barack Obama announced $8.3 billion US in loan guarantees to help Southern Co. construct a pair of reactors in Burke County in the state of Georgia. Obama said the move toward nuclear power had to be made to meet America’s energy needs and reduce greenhouse gases.
These will be the first new U.S. nuclear power plants in nearly three decades, a move Obama says “is only the beginning.” It is widely anticipated that Obama’s budget for the coming year will add $36 billion in new federal loan guarantees for nuclear facilities — on top of $18.5 billion already budgeted but not spent.
Read the official White House press release.
