The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
February 16, 2010

US to Give Loan Guarantees to Build New Nuclear Reactors
--------------------------------------------------------



President Obama is expected to announce today the federal government
will give over $8 billion in loan guarantees to help build the nation’s
first new nuclear reactors in three decades. The loans will help the
Atlanta-based Southern Company build two more nuclear reactors in Burke
County, Georgia near the city of Augusta. The loan guarantees will cover
up to 70 percent of the company’s portion of the project’s costs. The
Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized the Department of Energy to issue
up to $18.5 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear plants and other
energy projects. President Obama wants to triple the size of the loan
guarantees to $54 billion.



.