Speaking at a job-training facility of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, President Obama has announced roughly $8 billion in government loan guarantees for the construction of two new nuclear plants in Georgia. The plants, to be constructed by the Georgia Power unit of the Southern Company, would be the first new plants constructed in the United States in almost 30 years. The two plants, to be added to two existing units at the company's Vogtle facility, will create approximately 3,500 jobs during construction and another 800 permanent jobs when they begin operation.

The loan guarantees were authorized in Title 17 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Currently, the program is authorized to issue up to $18.5 billion in guarantees. The Administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 would almost triple that amount -- to $54 billion.

A copy of the President's remarks can be found here. More information on the DOE loan guarantee program can be found here.