Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) released their energy plan today.
Webb and Alexander propose the “Clean Energy Act of 2009“, with the following key points:
1. Loan guarantees — $10 billion authorization that can leverage up to $100 billion in government-backed loans for the development of clean, carbon-free energy to bring in investors and project developers to jump-start efforts that are otherwise too capital-intensive up front.
2. Nuclear workforce — $100 million per year for 10 years toward nuclear education and training. The nuclear revival cannot take place without a workforce and for that reason the bill provides much-needed support to educate and train craftsmen, engineers, operators and other workers.
3. New reactor designs — $200 million per year for five years for a cost-sharing mechanism between government and industry to enable the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review new nuclear reactor designs such as small and medium reactors and help bring those technologies from concept into the marketplace.
4. More power from existing reactors — $50 million per year for 10 years for much-needed research to extend the lifetime of our current nuclear fleet and maximize the production of low-cost nuclear power. Longer lifetimes and increased efficiency for our existing 104 reactors could equal the production of 20 to 30 new reactors.
5. Five new “mini-Manhattan Projects” for clean energy — $750 million per year for 10 years for research and development of carbon capture from coal plants, technologies to make solar power more cost-competitive, improvement of batteries for electric cars, advanced biofuels (other than ethanol) from crops that we don’t eat, and development of means to mitigate and manage nuclear waste. Each of these will be funded at $150 million annually.
I hope on the last one they consulted with Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), who has been carrying this legislation and making the proposal for over a year.
