NRECA CEO Glenn English thanked Senate leaders for authorizing $50 billion in U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees to finance low-carbon power generation projects, including advanced nuclear, renewable energy and carbon capture and storage technologies.

In a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye and Vice Chairman Thad Cochran, as well as Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Chairman Byron Dorgan and Vice Chairman Robert Bennett, English laid out the cooperatives’ need for increased generation capacity in the coming years:

The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that by 2030, demand for electricity will be 30 percent higher, the equivalent of adding four Californias to the power grid. In some regions, demand will soon outstrip supply, according to the North America Electric Reliability Corporation.

Uncertainty over regulation of carbon has hobbled the electric utility sector’s efforts to plan for projected increases in demand. The cooperatives, which are growing faster than other sectors of the industry and whose power plants are older, are facing tighter time constraints.

English noted that the “Loan Guarantee program is more important than ever in this time of scarce lending. Despite the fact that the program has been underfunded, electric cooperatives have pending applications to finance nuclear projects. Those projects are already creating jobs that will ramp up in the near term.”

Cooperatives are aggressively seeking workable approaches to reducing carbon emissions from power generation. Clean Renewable Energy Bonds have helped jumpstart cooperative renewable energy projects. In 2005 co-ops owned or purchased 927 MW of renewable capacity. By the end of 2008, co-ops will have more than doubled this number -- adding 1,205 MW of new renewable capacity. This is a capacity increase of 130% in just three years since renewable energy incentives have been in place.

Low-cost financing for low-carbon projects would likewise provide a significant boost for a new, more climate-friendly energy future.