hell do we introduce the right information technology so those are the kind of policy recommendations that we will be coming out with that in some sense of the rcn already is it is not an issue of the level of investment because that has come up dramatically already in the last years especially in response to the new energy situation. >> this is the direction. how do we guide it to be reasonably and against what we expect to be increasing the bouts of extreme weather against cyber attacks and against physical attacks and the geomagnetic storms so it is a whole set of risks and we need to invest in this infrastructure in a way that supports clean energy and provides resilience against a broad spectrum. republicans attack democrats

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. there's the promotion of natural gas pit of republicans that attack democrats and say there's 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 there's 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 up-to-date 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 up-to-date 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 private-sector takeover. now there've been failures. solyndra is a default. the portfolio had a 2% default

rate. i don't 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 you're 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 don't 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. >> it's a pleasure speaking with you. [applause] >> next we have the chairman president and ceo of southern company. next spring a new coal-fired 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 plan's carbon dioxide will be captured and carried underground where it won't 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 first-ever u.s. power plant be designed to include commercial carbon capture technology. thanks tom for coming. >> thank you so much margaret. we don't have a lot of time. we have to get right to work. did you like ernie moniz? if he wasn't fabulous would you say that? >> absolutely. he's 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 i'm 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. i'm 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 isn't just clean or affordable.

we have got to put "ands" in there. we've 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? >> that's what we are working on right now. >> so how do you turn it into -- >> you don't. >> why don't 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? >> i'm 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 isn't 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 couldn't 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 don't even need an external power source to get the water where it needs to be. the power of gravity. newton's law will deliver it

where it needs to be. so it is much more resilient. 70% less valves and pipes. great technology. we're 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 nation's future, nuclear is a dominant solution. there's only three kinds of -- the company that must go forward must have three characteristics. it's got to have scale. the project in georgia -- $14 billion over 10 years. you better have scales because you can't 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 you've 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 allen's 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 company's 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 don't want tax policies

deciding good business practice. i think i know how to deploy that you i don't 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. i'm 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 58-month 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 world's number one producer of oil and gas, helping to save drivers about a buck-ten 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 two-thirds. 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 everybody's part. so as a country, we have every right to be proud of what we've got to show for it. america's resurgence is real. and now that we've 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 america's prosperity for decades to come. that'll be the focus of my state of the union address in a couple weeks -- building on the progress we've made. but i figured, why wait--let's 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, i'm speaking with you today from pellissippi state community 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. i'm also here to establish a new hub that will attract more good-paying, high-tech 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 there's more to come. because america is coming back. and i want to go full speed ahead. thanks, everybody, and have a great weekend. >> hi, i'm senator john hoeven

from north dakota and i'd 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 that's 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 geo-political dynamic, weakening petro-dependent states like russia, iran, and venezuela and strengthening america. domestic energy production is also good news for american families and small businesses because increased supply is reducing the price of gas at the pump and putting more money in their pockets. lower prices at the pump, down by more than 60 cents a gallon from a year ago, will have the equivalent effect of cutting taxes in the u.s. by between $100 billion and $125 billion, according to economists. that is a tremendous boon to the american economy because energy is a foundational industry. virtually every other industry sector depends on it and does better when energy prices are lower. the benefits of lower energy prices flow across the economic

spectrum, but they especially help middle and low income households because those households spend a larger share of their budget on energy. in 2013, energy accounted for 27 percent of after-tax household income for families making less than $30,000, but only 9 percent for households making $50,000 or more. but make no mistake, gasoline prices aren't lower now because opec decided to give us a christmas present this year. they're lower because of the oil and gas renaissance in places like the bakken in north dakota and montana, the eagle ford in texas, and oil produced by our friend and ally, canada, as well. for us to continue to produce more energy and retain all of these benefits, we need more pipelines to move crude at the lowest cost and in the safest and most environmentally friendly way. the state department's