05/12/2010
LED Secretary Outlines Economic Opportunities of Nuclear Renaissance at National Press Club
Highlights Shaw Modular Solutions, growth
strategies
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Clean and Safe Energy Coalition
(CASEnergy) today released its "Policy Roadmap for Clean Energy" -
a four-point strategy to put the U.S. on a viable path to realize a
clean energy future. The roadmap calls for investing in nuclear
energy to preserve and create thousands of clean energy jobs.
Expanding nuclear energy along with other sources of clean energy
is a necessary step toward achieving the clean energy goals that
President Obama and the U.S. Congress envision.
Unveiling the CASEnergy Coalition's roadmap at the National
Press Club today were Coalition Co-chairs Christine Todd Whitman,
former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and
former New Jersey Governor; and Greenpeace Co-Founder Dr. Patrick
Moore. Joining them were Stephen Moret, Secretary of Louisiana
Economic Development; and Daniel Lipman, senior vice president for
Operations Support & Core Process Innovation at Westinghouse
Electric Corp.
The four-pronged CASEnergy Coalition plan to support a
sustainable energy policy encourages business and policy leaders
to:
- Enact policies to allow the nation to take control of its
energy security
- Ensure access to financing for clean energy projects
- Increase its investment in clean energy jobs
- Address used nuclear fuel storage needs through federal support
for recycling and other safe, innovative solutions
"To meet the country's growing energy needs while complying with
the 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions recommended by
President Obama and Congress, a complete package of approaches to
energy will be necessary," said Gov. Whitman. "To sufficiently
address the energy challenges we face, America must adopt a diverse
energy mix which includes new nuclear combined with the use of
renewable energy sources like wind, solar, geothermal and
hydropower as well as increased conservation efforts."
U.S. energy policy recommendations reflect growing support for
nuclear energy expansion, as evidenced by President Obama's
announcement in February of an $8.3 billion allocation in federal
loan guarantees to support construction of two new reactors in
Georgia and create thousands of new clean energy jobs. The
president has also recommended tripling the volume for loan
guarantees for new nuclear energy facilities.
"For those who continue to work for clean energy solutions, it
is clear that nuclear expansion is necessary to sustain nuclear
energy's clean air contributions and help the U.S. reach its energy
goals," said Dr. Moore. "The administration's renewed commitment to
nuclear energy as part of a clean energy policy demonstrates that
they are serious about reducing air pollution. The loan guarantees
recently announced by President Obama will support seven to 10 new
reactors and are just the first step towards ensuring emissions
goals will be met. Yet more work lies ahead. The U.S. will need 45
new nuclear reactors to reach the greenhouse gas reduction targets
outlined by Congress."
The CASEnergy Coalition and its more than 2,300 members work to
promote the increased use of nuclear energy to stimulate the
country's economy and to protect the environment. The Coalition's
diverse membership represents the broad-based consensus favoring
nuclear energy. The need for energy is non-partisan and the support
for nuclear energy as part of a sustainable energy plan spans a
variety of sectors, as demonstrated by the array of speakers
joining CASEnergy co-chairs to endorse the "Policy Roadmap for
Clean Energy":
"Because of its compelling benefits, nuclear energy should play
an important role in future U.S. energy policy. Moreover, nuclear
energy provides an opportunity to create a new manufacturing
industry in the U.S. at a time when our country has been losing
manufacturing jobs at a steady pace for decades. Specifically, one
of the keys to meeting the growing global demand for new nuclear
reactors will involve shifting from a craft-based approach with
unique products to standard manufacturing designs. This shift will
spark the development of new, specialized fabrication centers
capable of producing huge modular components for shipment to
nuclear reactor sites around the world. This will provide a major
economic development opportunity for Louisiana given our state's
globally competitive industrial construction and shipbuilding
sectors. For example, Shaw Modular Solutions already is developing
a $100 million facility in Lake Charles, La., that eventually will
employ up to 1,400 people focused on constructing modularized
nuclear reactor components. This facility is the first of its kind
in the U.S., and it won't be the last." - Stephen Moret, Secretary
of Louisiana Economic Development
"The nuclear renaissance is an economic stimulus package in and
of itself. The four new plants Westinghouse is providing in China,
for example, are creating or sustaining more than 5,000 high-paying
U.S. jobs in more than 20 states across virtually all sectors of
the economy. U.S. construction, similarly, will generate thousands
of design, engineering and manufacturing jobs to provide the
components, modules and the safety and monitoring systems that each
plant will require. Moreover, each new plant in the United States
will create approximately 2,400 on-site construction jobs and then
up to 700 permanent operating and maintenance jobs once the plants
are up and running."- Daniel S. Lipman, Senior Vice President,
Operations Support & Core Process Innovation of
Westinghouse
A live webcast of the press conference will also be available at
www.visualwebcaster.com/Casenergy-Coalition.
The archived webcast will be available for replay on this site
until November 12, 2010.
About the Clean and Safe Energy
(CASEnergy) Coalition
The CASEnergy Coalition is a national grassroots coalition of over
2,300 members that unites unlikely allies across the business,
environmental, academic, industry, consumer and labor community in
support of nuclear expansion. CASEnergy believes that increased use
of nuclear energy can improve energy security, ensure clean air
quality, and enhance the quality of life, health and economic
well-being of all Americans. The Coalition is led by Christine Todd
Whitman, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency and former New Jersey Governor, and Dr. Patrick Moore, a
co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace.
