A climate bill expected to be unveiled on Monday contains incentives to build 12 nuclear plants.
The draft bill, being lead by Senator John Kerry, will contain loan guarantees, protections against regulatory delays, and other incentives that aim to help companies obtain financing for nuclear plants.
The plants, which can cost between $5 and $10 billion to build, emit almost no carbon dioxide-the main greenhouse gas.
No new plants have won government approval in three decades, due in part to the high building costs.
The bill also delays emissions caps on plants that pollute large amounts of greenhouse gases-it contains a cap on emissions from power plants that would begin in 2013, a year later than had previously been outlined in legislation.
The delay in emissions caps in the draft bill may help to win the support needed from senators.
The bill will be supported by the Edison Electric Institute and three oil companies: BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips.
In order for anything to happen, the bill needs to receive 60 votes in the Senate.
If the bill receives approval in the Senate, President Obama would sign it into law as early as September or October.
Until next time,
Hilary
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