Budget 2011: Obama’s Energy Budget: A Revenue Neutral Cap and Trade System?
Nicolas Loris /
President Obama released his fiscal year 2011 budget this morning; his budget provides $28.4 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE) and $10 billion for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Both sections in the budget reflect the president’s message in the State of the Union address delivered last week: a government attempt to facilitate America’s transition to a clean energy economy.
Highlights of the DOE budget include:
$36 billion for Nuclear Loan Guarantees: Many are writing that nuclear is one of the big winners this year because of the $36 billion in new loan guarantees, but $18.5 billion in authorized loan guarantees already exists to provide predictability after years of erratic regulatory hurdles. Extending the loan guarantee program is not only unnecessary but will also crowd out technological development within and across the nuclear industry by artificially reducing the capital cost for large, lightwater reactors. In reality, a loan guarantee extention could prevent a dynamic, robust nuclear industry by reducing the need to innovate and creat private sector solutions to financing.