U.S. agency nixes $600M sales order

MILWAUKEE, June 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Export-Import Bank has denied loan guarantees for a coal project in India, putting 1,000 U.S. jobs at risk.

The bank's decision has effectively wiped out a $600 million sales order for coal-production equipment produced by Bucyrus International Inc. in 14 U.S. states, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Indiana, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Saturday.

The bank's board voted 2-1 Thursday to deny financing for Indian company Reliance Power Ltd. on environmental concerns.

"President Obama has made clear his administration's commitment to transition away from high-carbon investments and toward a cleaner-energy future," Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg said in a statement. "After careful deliberation, the Export-Import Bank board voted not to proceed with this project because of the projected adverse environmental impact."

But state and local leaders say the bank's action only guarantees India will find the equipment it needs elsewhere, most likely from China or Belarus.

"Unless the Obama administration jumps all over this and corrects a wrong fairly quickly, I am confident this business is going elsewhere," Bucyrus Chief Executive Tim Sullivan told the Journal Sentinel. "The bank's decision has had no impact on global carbon emissions but has cost the U.S. nearly 1,000 jobs."

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle said, "I was absolutely stunned by their decision. It was the most shortsighted, unconscionable decision you could imagine, and I can't see any justification for it.

"My discussions with the bank chairman were hardly confidence-building. They really could not justify their decision except somehow, somebody told them that if the word 'coal' is anywhere in a plan, then they can't move forward with it," Doyle said.

"It is surprising and disappointing that, in this difficult economy, the bank passed on this opportunity to create good-paying jobs," said U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis. "While I am aware of the environmental concerns, denying this deal doesn't prevent a coal power plant from being built. It only ensures that the jobs connected to it are not American," Kohl told the newspaper.

Environmentalists cheered the Export-Import Bank's decision, which was supported by the U.S. State and Treasury departments.

"Coal is the dirtiest form of energy that exists. There is no such thing as 'clean coal,'' said Oliver Bernstein, a spokesman for the Sierra Club.