Are these the happiest guys on The Hill? Co-sponsor Lindsey Graham and longtime nuclear energy advocate John McCain may get just what they want from the long-promised Senate climate legislation. No time for any pop culture references today. Just received a copy of the Senate climate bill's working draft nuclear title. In short, this is the stuff that just might bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans on climate legislation.
The info comes from an energy policy strategist closely involved in the closed-door Senate climate discussions. Among the critical components of the nuclear portion of the draft...
- Language emphasizing the importance of commercial nuclear energy as a source of "clean" baseload power. (Something that could clear the way for nuclear inclusion in a "Clean Energy Electricity Standard", or something similar to an R-E-S)
- Investment tax credits to create parity with the benefits enjoyed by wind and solar power. (Both renewable sources received long-term extensions of their tax credits last year)
- $38 billion in loan guarantee authority to be made available for nuclear projects. (unclear if this is comparable to the $54.5 billion in the White House FY 2011 budget proposal)
- Recognition of "the need to minimize the byproducts of nuclear power creation by investing in the research and development of processes to recycle spent waste." (supporting the work of the newly-named Blue Ribbon Commission on waste)
As for another of the bills co-sponsors, John Kerry's office tells me, "The entire bill, including the nuclear component, is under constant negotiation and continues to evolve."
Enough for 60 votes on a clean energy bill? Probably. Enough for 60 votes on a climate bill that includes a cap-and-trade system? Probably not.
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