The U.S. government plans to buy and own as many as 10 new, large nuclear reactors that could be paid for using Japan¡¯s $550 billion funding pledge, part of a push to meet surging demand for electricity.
The new details of the unusual arrangement were outlined Wednesday by Carl Coe, the U.S. Department of Energy¡¯s chief of staff, about the nonbinding commitment made by Japan in October to fund $550 billion in U.S. projects, including as much as $80 billion for the construction of new reactors made by Westinghouse Electric.
¡°The role of having the government involved in private markets is sacrosanct ¡ª you just don¡¯t do it,¡± Coe said at an energy conference hosted by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council. ¡°But this is a national emergency.¡±
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