No More Loans for Coal Plants

The Agriculture Department's Rural Utility Service (RUS) has suspended its low-interest loan program for rural electric cooperatives that want to build new coal plants, according to the Washington Post. In a letter, RUS said it will withhold loans for fiscal 2008 and 2009, when the government may revise guidelines for climate change. RE-AMP member Bruce Nilles is quoted in the article saying that RUS' position on climate-change costs is an "astonishing admission." However, he also warns that RUS may reject its responsibility to customers if their rates increase. Read the full Washington Post article here.