According to House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Constellation Energy Group’s joint venture with Electricite de France (EdF) to build a new nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs is now “first in line” for a federal loan guarantee. Hoyer, left, believes the Calvert Cliffs project is further along in the loan-guarantee process than competing projects in Texas and South Carolina.The Department of Energy has only enough loan authority to offer one more project a federal guarantee. Plant Vogtle in Georgia received the first loan guarantee of $8.3 billion for the $14 billion plant. Just like plant Vogtle, Calvert Cliffs has two existing nuclear units. Hoyer is pushing very hard to get an approval of loan guarantees from the Department of Energy for Constellation's third plant.
Under the federal program, the U.S. government agrees to repay the loans for nuclear plant construction if a company defaults on the debt. The Department of Energy has $18.5 billion in loan guarantee authority for 2010. President Obama has requested an additional $35.5 billion in his 2011 budget in order to provide guarantees for more nuclear plants. (The Baltimore Sun, 7/1/2010)
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