President Barack Obama yesterday took a major bet on nuclear power, announcing eight billion dollars in loan guarantees to build the first new plant on US soil in nearly 30 years.

Mr Obama said nuclear power, despite concerns among some environmentalists over safety, must play a key role in an energy policy designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and wean the United States off foreign oil from volatile regions.

"On an issue which affects our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we cannot continue to be mired in the same old debates between left and right, between environmentalists and entrepreneurs," Mr Obama said.

"We'll have to build a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in America," Mr Obama said on a visit to a training centre focusing on clean energy and low carbon energy technologies outside Washington.

"We are announcing roughly eight billion dollars in loan guarantees to break ground on the first new nuclear plant in our country in nearly three decades," Mr Obama said.

The loan guarantees will go towards the construction of two new nuclear reactors at an existing nuclear facility in Burke, Georgia, the White House said. At a time of economic blight when the administration is trying to create a new generation of clean energy jobs, Mr Obama said the investment in nuclear power would pay off in employment opportunities in years to come.

"It's a plant that will create thousands of construction jobs in the next few years and some 800 permanent jobs, well-paying permanent jobs, in the years to come. And this is only the beginning," Mr Obama said.

The President also warned that America's competitors were beating it to the punch on nuclear energy, specifically mentioning long-term investments by Japan and France in the industry.

He said of 56 nuclear reactors around being built around the world, 21 are in China, six in South Korea, and five in India - some of the key economies he most often mentions as trailblazing rivals to the US.

"To meet our growing energy needs and prevent the worst consequences of climate change, we'll need to increase our supply of nuclear power. It's that simple.

"Make no mistake: Whether it is nuclear energy, or solar or wind energy, if we fail to invest in these technologies today, we'll be importing them tomorrow."