BOISE, ID -- (Marketwire) -- 12/28/12 -- Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: AEHI) (www.aehipower.com) says confidence is high in its plans to build a nuclear power plant in Idaho following a number of successes for the nuclear industry as a whole in 2012. Successes include construction commencement on five new reactors and four additional reactor license approvals are expected in 2013 from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

New reactors under construction include two in Georgia at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, two in South Carolina at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, and one in Tennessee at Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station. The four expected NRC approvals include two reactors in Florida with Progress Energy, which is proposing a new plant on a currently undeveloped site, and two proposed reactors at Duke's Lee Station in South Carolina.

Another key component for AEHI is the recent designation for Idaho State University making its Energy Systems Technology and Education Center (ESTEC) the Northwest Regional Center of Excellence for Nuclear Education and Training by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). According to ISU, ESTEC, through ISU's College of Technology will soon begin coordinating the nuclear energy education and training for technicians in a nine-state region.

The achievement is viewed as a beneficial component to the future of AEHI's Idaho Energy Complex, since the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires a comprehensive plan for training personnel prior to the approval and construction of a nuclear power plant.

In June 2011 Payette County Board of Commissioners granted AEHI its local siting approval to build a proposed nuclear power plant. The recent announcement from ISU now sets the stage for supporting the Federal approval process, which the company plans to enter following a required environmental study that it plans to implement in 2013.

In other national nuclear power news the Department of Energy (DOE) recently awarded Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority funding to develop, license, and implement Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in the United States.

Also negotiations to approve an $8.3 billion federal loan guarantee for the construction of Southern Company's two new reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia is expected to be finalized in the near future. The Federal Loan Guarantee program was established in August 2011.

About Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc. (http://www.aehipower.com) - Alternate Energy Holdings develops and markets innovative carbon-free energy sources. The company is the nation's only publicly traded independent nuclear power plant developer seeking to build a new nuclear power plant; Idaho Energy Complex is the lead project. Other business units include Energy Neutral®, which reduces energy demands for homes and businesses using primarily renewables (http://www.energyneutralinc.com) and Green World Water™, which markets nuclear desalination reactors primarily to developing countries for production of potable water, power generation and other suitable applications (http://www.greenworld-h2o.com).

Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this press release which are not purely historical, including statements regarding Alternative Energy Holdings', intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, plans or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. As such, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. . The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risk the company may not raise sufficient money to fund the costs and expenses of the COLA application process, the risk that the company may experience delays in the COLA application process and the risk that the COLA application will not receive regulatory approval. Our business could be affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors listed from time to time in the company's SEC reports including, but not limited to, the annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011. The company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc. disclaims any obligation, and does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release.