NUCLEAR ORGANIZATIONS AND FIRMS URGE DOE TO PRESERVE LOAN PROGRAMS OFFICE

In a letter addressed to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Christopher Wright, a group of thirty (30) public policy groups and private firms, many supportive or involved with nuclear energy, encouraged DOE to protect DOE’s Loans Program Office (LPO) from funding cuts to ensure it could “fully carry out its mission”. 

The letter specifically advises the office to the LPO’s “specialized staff”, “preserve the LPO’s robust financing capabilities”, and maintain the integrity of the LPO as a financial institution. 

The letter places a special focus on how neglecting the LPO could stall American new nuclear energy development, endangering American interests and “weakening American competitiveness”.  It notes that the LPO has been instrumental in funding new nuclear development already, including a long-standing loan for Plant Vogtle’s AP1000 Reactors, and a 1.52 billion loan to Holtec to restart the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, which would create 600 jobs and generate 800 mwe of energy for the grid. 

According to the letter, the projects that the LPO supports are “commercial scale-infrastructure efforts that reduce electricity costs, bolster domestic production, and rebuild American industry.” 

To read the letter, click here.