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Very soon, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is expected to announce the first of $18.5 billion in loan guarantees to companies seeking to build new nuclear power plants. The experts think the first company to secure such a loan guarantee will be the Southern Company, which wants to add two new reactors to its existing facility in Georgia. Other applicants include Constellation Energy, NRG Energy, and SCANA Corp.

The DOE’s Loan Guarantee Program derives from the Energy Policy Act of 2005, passed under the Bush Administration and devised to help the nuclear power industry get back into the business of planning and building new nuclear power plants. The goal is to help meet increasing demand for electricity over the coming years while at the same time trying to curb global warming blamed on carbon dioxide emissions. The $18.5 billion allotted would support the construction of two or three new plants.

Now, after four years of setup and evaluation, the DOE under the Obama Administration finally seems poised to issue the guarantees to its first applicants. Industry supporters hope a signal will be sent to private sector lenders and to Wall Street that nuclear power is a safer bet than it’s been for decades. Because of safety issues and soaring costs, no new nuclear power plants have been built or put into operation in the U.S. in more than 20 years. It was deemed too risky, financially and environmentally.

How far we’ve come since then! The very notion of a Democratic administration pushing nuclear power loan guarantees was unthinkable a decade ago. But given the realities of global warming, a slowly increasing number of former opponents are starting to accept that nuclear power may have to be part of the solution.

Of course, the No Nukes movement isn’t dead and expected announcements that U.S. taxpayers will subsidize new nuclear power plants is bound to stir controversy and awaken many, particularly those concerned about nuclear waste (along with those who are, in general, fed up with taxpayer dollars going to any corporations engaged in purportedly shaky enterprises).

As such, proponents of nuclear power must confront what’s coming next from groups seeking to derail new nuclear construction – groups that can be very vocal, that are committed to winning in the Court of Public Opinion, and that have plenty of time to mobilize.

Nuclear energy supporters must be poised to communicate strategically and proactively, anticipating their opponents’ next moves at every turn. They must be armed with an articulate, convincing message that nuclear power is safe, adaptable, and essential.

Michael Konczal is a Senior Vice President at Levick Strategic Communications, the nation’s top crisis communications firm, and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with Levick on Twitter: @Levick.