CASEnergy Co-Chairs’ Statement on Climate Change Debate
WASHINGTON, DC, October 26, 2009 – If we are serious about reducing our fossil fuel emissions as a hedge against the negative effects of climate change while meeting our growing energy demands, we must search for practical answers. Any one energy source alone will not solve our challenges. A diverse portfolio of energy solutions that includes and favors all low-emissions technologies, such as wind, geothermal, and nuclear energy is needed. Of that group, nuclear energy is the only large-scale, virtually carbon-free electricity source, operating efficiently and safely around the clock.
Nuclear energy is uniquely positioned to address some major concerns of climate change — meeting rising electricity demand 24/7 in a cost-efficient way with minimal greenhouse gas emissions. America’s 104 reactors already account for nearly 75 percent of all carbon-free electricity produced today.
Increasing nuclear capability will also mean tens of thousands of additional jobs for our country’s struggling economy. In the past three years, nuclear plant investment has already created an estimated 15,000 new American jobs. Looking forward, as many as 2,400 workers will be needed at a single site during peak periods of new nuclear plant construction. Once completed, 400 to 700 workers will be needed to run each reactor.
Nuclear energy has a scientifically proven ability to provide large quantities of reliable, affordable energy with virtually zero carbon emissions. It should be part of a larger solution—a comprehensive framework developed by Congress that uses all low-carbon energy sources.