President Obama promised $8 billion in federal loans to build to the first U.S. nuclear power plant in 30 years, Tuesday.

"Whether it's nuclear energy, or solar, or wind energy, we fail to invest in the technologies of tomorrow, then we're going to be importing those technologies instead of exporting them," Obama said.

The President said this initiative will create thousands of construction jobs immediately and will lead to, at least, 800 permanent jobs.

"Investing in nuclear energy remains a necessary step," Obama said. "And what I hope is that this announcement underscores both our seriousness in meeting the energy challenge and our willingness to look at this challenge not as a partisan issue, but as a matter far more important than politics."

The proposed nuclear power plant will be located in Burke County, Ga.