Attacked democrats and say there is a war on cold. The traditional existing infrastructure. Your age say you are and all of the above energy guy. Theres the promotion of natural gas pit of republicans that attack democrats and say theres a war on coal. Is that true . There is no war on coal. Make no bones about it there is a fundamental commitment that starts with the president on moving towards a low carbon future. What we mean by all of the above is that within that constraint we have made Major Investments in developing the technology lowering the cost for using all fuels that low carbon world. What does that mean for coal . Him into have to . 6 billion to advance the kind of integrated coal projects that involve capturing the Carbon Dioxide most of them involve using that Carbon Dioxide to enhance the recovery to provide you with a valuable product that lowers the cost. We have a solicitation right now for the Loaner Program committee to billion dollars for supporting full soul fuel technologies that would reduce emissions so we are working really hard to get those technologies developed deployed, demonstrated so that everybody understands what the path forward is in the low carbon economy. One other thing also in the private context, we have to keep in mind that this requires a global solution. We all know we use used somewhat shy of a billion tons of coal in the United States. The chinese are at or near 4 billion tons. India is building up. We need to have these Technology Solutions that are going to be applied globally. The u. S. Ban on crude oil exports, where do you stand on that with regard to that right now and do you think that is something that will be lifted . Well, there are a number of arguments obviously as you know on that, and we have made it very clear that within the administration that involves multiple agencies. First of all theres been no policy change. We do export products of course and we are examining the issues around the Oil Production in the United States. I want to emphasize the context of this discussion generally speaking is in the context of ways to import 7. 5 Million Barrels a day of crude oil. We are on the other hand we have become a substantial exporter of oil products so we are exporting those are very important considerations about addressing the question you raised. Those facts also emphasized Something Else very important. We remain linked to the Global Market prices for imports and exports. Let me clarify. We are evaluating all the factors. The arguments are over ventilated at the moment. Sounds like a keystone answer. You decided to go there. After co you mentioned the Loan Guarantee program. If we were to borrow the analogy earlier. Bring us uptodate with that program has done the . Sounds like a keystone answer. You decided to go there. You mention the one guarantee program. The first chapter and a Loan Guarantee program. Bring us uptodate on what that one guarantee has done. It has deployed 30 billion roughly speaking across the Energy Spectrum including by the way i believe a the next speaker on the Nuclear Project but fossils and renewable efficiency. The portfolio has been a major success. Let me give you one good example in solar. In 2009, the United States had zero utility scale projects. By the way in the 2009 pointing back to the financial discussion, the Debt Financing was not easily available. The loan program stepped in and provided support for five projects successfully. Today there are 17 projects greater than 100 megawatts completely with private financing. That is the model of what we want to do. Get this kick starter and have the privatesector takeover. Now thereve been failures. Solyndra is a default. The portfolio had a 2 default rate. I dont know of other investment portfolios that have this kind of success rate. So it is very easy to find the one, two, three projects that have default. It is a 2 default rate. As i said earlier we had 40 billion left during the 30s. Assuming we find the great pipeline of their interesting projects, we plan to deploy that. We plan to wrap up in one must question. Is there anything that we can get it done or they targeted opportunity if youre dealing with the chairman Lisa Murkowski on the Senate Energy committee next year as opposed to the chairwoman Mary Landrieu . When it comes to the Climate Action plan it is the main guide , to what we are doing in the energy space supplemented by Energy Security concerns and obviously driving the economy through the manufacturing programs, etc. We are exercising all of those programs through existing executive authority. We will continue to do that. So you dont want to deal with the senator . We have a Good Relationship with the senator. I think it is very well known that we have worked very well across the aisle and across both chambers. That will continue and we have continued as as world to aggressively pursue our programs with our executive authorities. Its a pleasure speaking with you. [applause] next we have the chairman president and ceo of southern company. Next spring a new coalfired power plant is being erected in the pine woods of oral mississippi. Tom fanning has called the money 5. 5 billion counting a bitter pill to swallow. But with these high costs come higher returns. Most of the plans Carbon Dioxide will be captured and carried underground where it wont impact the client acclimate, not the client. Tom fanning is here to talk with the Atlantic Steve clemons of clemons up a costly road he traveled to the firstever u. S. Power plant be designed to include commercial Carbon Capture technology. Thanks tom for coming. Thank you so much margaret. We dont have a lot of time. We have to get right to work. Did you like ernie moniz . If he wasnt fabulous would you say that . Absolutely. Hes an action oriented guy smart, comes from a great background, dynamite choice. The reason i want to interview you hear is i heard you gave a talk in asp in a couple of years ago in which you talk about carbon and ways to deploy that. You just opened this mississippi plant at margaret mentioned but beyond that you are taking things to china and im interested you are one of the big power guy is and you also deploy your energy among the lowest socioeconomic constituencies in the United States. Im interested in how you get Smart Energy Choices when the economics are not necessarily there. There are a lot of issues you have seven minutes. It is so foundational. When i took of the National Security i cochair that effort when i think about the challenges in the economy we see right now come a 46 said they got the constituents that i serve, they make less than when i think of the challenges in the economy we see right now 46 of families we are privileged to serve make less than 40,000 a year. Other Energy Budget is relatively inflexible. Think about the other challenges we face. Our ability to balance clean safe Affordable Energy for their benefit is in or miss. What we have been is enormous. Where we have been able to do coal is super cheap. When you say what is the strategy, we have got to balance of those things. We are a little bit smaller but similar to australia. This is a big company. We have to figure out ways to make all of those things work. It isnt just clean or affordable. We have got to put ands in there. Weve been able to do that. We are the only company in america during the proprietary Robust Research development. We developed our own technology to essentially consumed low grade coal with a Carbon Footprint less than natural gas and we take the co2 and in this case. We use it to produce more domestic oil. Is that what is in the project . Thats what we are working on right now. So how do you turn it into you dont. Why dont we have china observe the projects . In fact what we have to do is build a full portfolio. The idea is we need nuclear dominant solutions in the world. 21st century we manage the co2. Natural gas, energy efficiency. The technology that we are talking about in mississippi which has had its challenges we signed two agreements in china. China could use 30,000 megawatts. It is impractical to believe that the rest of the world of a lot continued to consume whole. Coal. We have to find ways to consume a responsible way. When you think about the nation like portland which probably has a vast majority of the Energy Produced by low grade coal, not only is it high gas prices but here in the United States we have four dollars gas prices right now. And you politics holy smokes. These ideas can make a lot of sense. Higgins used to be seen as the oil guy. Now he is the natural gas guy. They said he is the nuclear guy. He was the big new clear after fukushima, how do deal with the public . What do you after fukushima to deal with this constant concern that nuclear while it may help is nonetheless creating other spinoffs that undermine our health and safety. Let me just say this, the nuclear guy. Argue the nuclear guy . Are you done nuclear guy . Im the portfolio guide. One of the largest players in solar and one of the leaders in energy efficiency. When people say all of the above, most of that is rhetoric. With respect to nuclear, it has taken a great deal of vision encouraged to continue the path of nuclear in spite of fukushima. One of the things you must know is that the technology that we are deploying in georgia is the safest and most liable Nuclear Technology on the planet today. Further, the circumstances how do you know that . Because the design is different. This is a safe plan and this isnt a safe plan . They had an earthquake. The plan started tripping off. When things got bad is when they had the tsunami the took out all the external power sources. It couldnt that water where needed to be in the time of an emergency. The major design difference in it was all technology. The new technology as the water above the reactor. You dont even need an external power source to get the water where it needs to be. The power of gravity. Newtons law will deliver it where it needs to be. So it is much more resilient. 70 less valves and pipes. Great technology. Were not on the coastline or sensitive area. A lot of reasons we need to go forward. The secretary is a great guy. If you believe carbon is important to the nations future, nuclear is a dominant solution. Theres only three kinds of the company that must go forward must have three characteristics. Its got to have scale. The project in georgia 14 billion over 10 years. You better have scales because you cant set up the company. You have to have the highest level of financial integrity. You know that you will go through the world financial market. You better have staying power. Third, credibility of other nations. Nuclear is no business for beginners. We have covered a lot of terrain in seven minutes. [laughter] one of the areas i would step back and look at and i would have liked to have a whole other component on his china. On was china. When you think about the various efforts, you might look forward to the impact. Nothing works unless you give china and india in a big way. In your dealings with china, how does it work . In just a snapshot. Is there the capacity to exhort a killer app, Technology Something that changes their choices in ace the stomach way . In a systemic way . This is why i am the portfolio guy. The numbers are so big no single killer act will solve the app will solve the problem. They have an enormous issue to deal with. They have growth and they have Environmental Issues if youve ever been to beijing you have seen it. You have trouble seeing several blocks away. So, the point is the chinese with all of their scale and growth have to think about ways to allens this clean, safe balance this clean, safe reliable obligation. I think there is a clear place for this kind of Technology Solutions. Solutions, not rhetoric. I think we can help. To wrap up, you have been someone who has been bold and saying take away all of my goodies. Benefits of the government. You got billions of dollars of taxpayer money for some of your companys syria you give all that up for lower taxes and what do you need to make it work . Really invest in r d . President obama, take this away. We dont want tax policies deciding Good Business practice. I think i know how to deploy that you i dont need signals from the irs on how best to do that. Here is what i would propose get rid of essentially all tax preference items. What it would be is get rid of all of that stuff. To rid of all of that stuff. Give me a tax rate. Im in. Tom fanning. Thank you so much. Banks. That was fun. In his week i just, president obama through these economic progress made in 2014. The republican response outlines the benefits of the keystone xl pipeline. Hi, everybody. About a year ago, i promised that 2014 would be a breakthrough year for america. And this week, we got more evidence to back that up. In december, our businesses created 240,000 new jobs. The Unemployment Rate fell to 5. 6 . That means that 2014 was the strongest year for job growth since the 1990s. In 2014, unemployment fell faster than it has in three decades. Over a 58month streak, our businesses have created 11. 2 million new jobs. After a decade of decline, American Manufacturing is in its best stretch of job growth since the 90s. America is now the worlds number one producer of oil and gas, helping to save drivers about a buckten a gallon at the pump over this time last year. Thanks to the Affordable Care act, about 10 million americans have gained Health Insurance in the past year alone. We have cut our deficits by about twothirds. And after 13 long years, our war in afghanistan has come to a responsible end, and more of our brave troops have come home. It has been six years since the crisis. Those years have demanded hard work and sacrifice on everybodys part. So as a country, we have every right to be proud of what weve got to show for it. Americas resurgence is real. And now that weve got some calmer waters, if we all do our part, if we all pitch in, we can make sure that tide starts lifting all boats again. We can make sure that the middle class is the engine that powers americas prosperity for decades to come. Thatll be the focus of my state of the Union Address in a couple weeks building on the progress weve made. But i figured, why waitlets get started right now. On wednesday, i visited a ford plant outside of detroit because the American Auto industry and its home state are redefining the word comeback. On thursday, i traveled to arizona, a state that was hit among the hardest by the housing crisis, to announce a new plan that will put hundreds of dollars in new homeowners pockets, and help more new families buy their first home. And, im speaking with you today from Pellissippi StateCommunity College in tennessee, a state making big strides in education, to unveil my new plan to make two years of Community College free for every responsible student. Im also here to establish a new hub that will attract more goodpaying, hightech manufacturing jobs to our shores. Making homeownership easier. Bringing a Higher Education within reach. Creating more good jobs that pay good wages. These are just some of the ways we can help every american get ahead in the new economy. And theres more to come. Because america is coming back. And i want to go full speed ahead. Thanks, everybody, and have a great weekend. Hi, im senator john hoeven from north dakota and id like to talk to you about why i believe we should pass legislation to approve the keystone xl pipeline, and why making it the first bill we take up in the new congress is important. I want to start, however, with some good news we got yesterday from nebraska. The Nebraska Supreme Court has decided that their state has properly determined the route of the keystone kl pipeline. Now, only the federal government is holding it up, and thats unfortunate because the keystone xl pipeline is all about energy, jobs, economic growth, and National Security. Along with roads, rail, and transmission lines, pipelines like the keystone xl are part of a comprehensive National Energy plan. The pipeline will carry 830,000 barrels of oil a day, including 100,000 barrels of domestic oil from north dakota and montana. Working with one of our closest friends and allies, canada, we can achieve true north american Energy Security at home, and at the same time help our allies abroad, which makes our people more secure both here and overseas. The oil and gas we are producing in north america is already changing the global geopolitical dynamic, weakening petrodependent states like russia, iran, and venezuela and str