Welcome to Federal Credit Fridays! The U.S. government is one of the largest lenders and credit guarantors on earth. Its portfolio is estimated at over $3.6 trillion, as measured by loan assets and the face value of loan guarantees. The government uses credit for a wide variety of policy missions, including housing, higher education, small businesses, rural and urban economic development, infrastructure, and export promotion, among others. This podcast will familiarize you with the vast world of federal credit, the similarities and differences between these programs, and the importance of their work to achieving policy missions within the framework of public-private collaboration.
Nuclear energy has been here before—on the verge of a comeback, only to stall. But this time, there are real reasons to believe it might stick.
On this week’s Federal Credit Fridays, Brian Oakley joins us to talk about the new wave of interest in nuclear power. Here’s what’s different now:
Soaring demand—Data centers are driving a 24/7 need for reliable baseload power.
Smarter designs—Small modular reactors promise faster, standardized builds.
Policy support—U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantees, tax credits, and state incentives are on the table. Big companies like Microsoft are signing long-term nuclear power deals.
But financing is still the biggest hurdle. Cost overruns, first-of-a-kind engineering expenses, and market uncertainty make private lenders cautious. That’s where federal credit comes in.
The DOE Loan Programs Office can offer the long-term, low-cost financing needed to get the first projects over the finish line—proving they can be built on time and paving the way for private capital to follow.
As Brian put it: “This is the perfect application for federal credit.”
If nuclear is going to play a key role in a clean, reliable grid, federal credit may be what finally gets it there.