WASHINGTON – Two senators unveiled legislation Monday to double U.S. nuclear energy output in 20 years and foster clean energy options with “mini-Manhattan Projects” named for the original U.S. atomic bomb push.

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), noting they cannot support the cap-and-trade climate bill now churning through the Senate, said their plan could cost $20 billion over 10 years.  It would include $100 billion for carbon-free electricity loan guarantees, expected to chiefly benefit the U.S. nuclear industry.

It would also offer $750 million per year for 10 years to fund carbon-capture-and-storage technology — sometimes known as “clean coal” — as well as biofuels made from non-food crops, advanced batteries for electric cars and trucks, solar power, and recycling of used nuclear fuel.

The senators dubbed those initiatives “mini-Manhattan projects,” a reference to the World War II-era effort to develop the atomic bomb.

The bill also includes $100 million per year for 10 years to train and educate nuclear engineers, operators, and related skilled workers, at a time when U.S. unemployment is soaring at 10.2 percent, a 26-year high.

Alexander, a fervent foe of White House-backed cap-and-trade legislation, noted that boosting nuclear energy enjoys the support of members of both major U.S. parties as well as President Barack Obama’s administration.

Webb, who said he could not vote for the cap-and-trade bill “in its current form,” said increasing U.S. nuclear capability was among “things we know we can do” to reduce carbon emissions blamed for global warming.