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WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is poised to ask Congress to agree to $9 billion more in loan guarantees for the nuclear energy industry, a Democratic aide said Thursday, in a renewed push for nuclear power as the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico highlights the risks of fossil fuel production.Also Thursday the Energy Department announced a $2 billion loan guarantee for French-owned nuclear services company Areva Inc. to support construction of a uranium enrichment plant in eastern Idaho.At the insistence of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, the request for more spending on nuclear energy would be coupled with $9 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy such as wind and solar, according to the Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity before a formal announcement from the White House.

MTI Micro Fuel Cells in upstate New York has received a $1.2 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE), to facilitate field testing of MTI Micro?s Mobion® micro direct methanol fuel cell systems.The additional DOE funding for MTI Micro will broaden the cost-shared program fund that supports the manufacturing process for Mobion fuel cell systems, and reducing the overall cost of its micro direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology.?This grant will bring us to the next phase of our development ? field testing ? which is a precursor start to our Mobion production process, helping to bring a more efficient and environmentally friendly power source to the global market,? says Peng Lim, President and CEO of MTI Micro, a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology Inc.

Alstom, the French energy giant, has taken a $55 million stake in BrightSource Energy, a solar power plant builder backed by Google, Morgan Stanley and other investors.The investment is part of a $150 million round raised by BrightSource in one of the biggest renewable energy deals of the year. The California State Teachers Retirement System also joined the latest funding round as did the existing investors VantagePoint Venture Partners, Morgan Stanley and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Based in Oakland, Calif., BrightSource has now raised more than $300 million. Alstom becomes one of the startup?s largest shareholders and will take a seat on the board, according to John Woolard, BrightSource?s chief executive. The French company makes turbines and other power systems for fossil fuel, nuclear and hydro power plants and operates a division that builds high-speed trains.