Senate Appropriators Add $50B to Loan Guarantee Program
January 28, 2009
Katherine Ling, E&E reporter
The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday voted to increase the
cap on loan guarantees for advanced low-carbon technology by $50
billion.
The provision, included in a chairman's mark of the stimulus bill,
comes as good news for the nuclear industry, which otherwise has seen
little other support in either the Senate or the House economic
stimulus packages. It would more than double the current loan
guarantee cap of $38 billion and would stay applicable to advanced
"clean energy" technology as defined in the 2005 energy bill, which
includes nuclear, renewable energy, biofuels and coal with carbon
capture and sequestration.
House Democrats stifled a similar move by Republicans to include
nuclear energy in the temporary $8 billion loan guarantee program
included in the House economic stimulus package in an Energy and
Commerce Committee markup last week. It is unclear whether the Senate
provision will remain in the stimulus by the time it reaches
President Barack Obama's desk.
"It's understandable that we wouldn't see a lot in there for nuclear
given the time horizon -- new jobs within one to two years -- that
they are looking at," said a source within the industry.
"While we won't start construction of those new plants soon, there is
a real possibility of new manufacturing jobs within that timeframe,"
the source added.
Proponents have promoted the nuclear industry as a job-creator,
especially in the manufacturing sector. With 17 applications for new
nuclear power plants in the United States along with about 100
planned nuclear plants around the world, there is a very great
necessity for nuclear components that the United States could
provide, advocates say.
But it is uncertain whether nuclear will get any money for its
manufacturing industry either. A proposed $2 billion in manufacturing
tax credits in the Finance Committee mark only applies to production
of components for renewable energy, electric or hybrid-electric car
storage systems, grid and efficiency components, carbon capture and
storage equipment and renewable fuels.
Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) are working to
change the manufacturing tax incentive so that it is "technology
neutral." During yesterday's Finance Committee markup (/see related
story/), Carper said he plans on making the amendment on the floor
next week when the Senate is scheduled to take up the economic
stimulus package.
"Today we have almost, we have very limited, very limited ability in
this country to produce, to manufacture the components to build those
plants," Carper said. "And we're going to end up, if we're not
careful, pretty much buying the components to build those plants in
other places rather than build those components here."
Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said he agreed with the
"thrust" of Carper's amendment and had added a few more components eligible
for the tax incentive to the bill but did not commit to adopting a
completely technology-neutral manufacturing credit.
Asked about the chances of passing the "technology neutral" amendment
once the bill passed the committee, Carper told /E&E Daily/ the odds
were "pretty good," noting the bipartisan support for a similar
"technology neutral" measure he sponsored -- with Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-Vt.) -- in last year's Senate climate change bill.
The nuclear industry has also lobbied for money for job training
specific to nuclear energy, which requires some specialized skills.
But much of the job training -- especially in the House economic
stimulus bill -- currently focuses on jobs for renewable energy,
energy efficiency and health care.