President Obama calls for huge expansion of nuclear energy
In his State of the Union Address last week, President Obama called for the construction of a “a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants,” to help spur economic growth and job creation in the clean energy sector and to help wean America off foreign energy. Just days later, the President announced a major initiative to triple the current amount of federal loan guarantees for the construction of nuclear reactors. The President’s 2011 budget contains $54 billion of loan guarantees that are intended to cover as much as 80% of the construction costs for qualifying nuclear plants reports the New York Times. This represents a three-fold increase from the $18.5 billion Congress passed and President Bush signed in 2005.
Virginia’s thriving nuclear industry is poised to play an integral role in this vast expansion of America’s nuclear energy industry. On the generation side, Dominion is seeking to build a new reactor at its North Anna Power Station and could qualify for the new loan guarantees. On the reactor components side, Northrup Grumman and Areva are building a $363 million nuclear components factor in Newport News that will put Virginia in the lead for building parts for the next generation of American reactors. Finally – and most importantly for energy independence – the Coles Hill uranium deposit in Southside’s Pittsylvania County is the largest undeveloped nuclear fuel deposit in the United States. If developed, it could singlehandedly fuel Virginia’s current nuclear demand for 65 years. The National Academy of Sciences is currently conducting an 18-month independent study of the human health, safety and environmental considerations of mining the deposit before the General Assembly, state agencies and local governments develop regulations and permitting to allow mining to get underway.
In his State of the Union speech, the President also called for increased offshore oil and gas drilling and the development of advanced biofuels and clean coal technology that will further reduce our dependence on foreign energy.
