President Obama calls for new generation of safe, clean nuclear energy in State of the Union address
President Obama dedicated a portion of his State of the Union address to the nation’s energy future. He called for an increase in clean energy jobs and expressed his support for the creation of new nuclear power. Obama stated:
“Next, we need to encourage American innovation. Last year, we made the largest investment in basic research funding in history, an investment — an investment that could lead to the world’s cheapest solar cells or treatment that kills cancer cells but leaves healthy ones untouched.
And no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy. You can see the results of last year’s investments in clean energy in the North Carolina company that will create 1,200 jobs nationwide, helping to make advanced batteries, or in the California business that will put 1,000 people to work making solar panels.
But to create more of these clean-energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives, and that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country.
It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development.
It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean-coal technologies.
And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.”