The Obama administration took a lot of heat -- and rightfully so -- for its handling of $535 million in loan guarantees handed to solar maker Solyndra, a high-risk solar company.
But it may be making a bet on nuclear power that could dwarf the Solyndra losses and compound losses for consumers in Georgia at the same time.
The Vogtle Electric Generating Plant expansion being built in Georgia is relying on an $8.3 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy.
You may remember Solyndra, the solar upstart that got a $535 million loan guarantee despite not having a cost-effective solar module.
In rapid fashion, the company built a state-of-the-art plant and quickly found out that it couldn't compete with low-cost Chinese solar modules.
Solyndra went bankrupt in 2011, and the Department of Energy got back scraps on its original investment.
The $8.3 billion being negotiated for Vogtle may seem less risky, but nuclear-plant designer Westinghouse has never completed an AP1000 reactor, the design planned for Vogtle.
Then there's the fact that Wall Street wants nothing to do with Vogtle, or nuclear energy.
S&P downgraded the outlook on Southern and subsidiary Georgia Power's credit from "stable" to "negative".
Vogtle 1 and 2 were originally estimated to cost $660 million, but costs ballooned to $8.87 billion by the time they were done.
At one time, Solyndra seemed like a great idea to the DOE...
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/10/13/this-could-dwarf-the-solyndra-debacle.aspx