Background: The South Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce promotes and supports the advancement of the economic growth of Hispanic businesses in South Carolina, providing leadership and serving as a bridge between community leaders, different cultures, and the community at large. Evelyn Lugo is the President of the South Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and represents the organization’s membership with the CASEnergy Coalition. Ms. Lugo is originally from Puerto Rico, and also serves as the Hispanic/Latino Outreach Coordinator for the American Cancer Society.

CASEnergy Involvement: “The South Carolina Hispanic Chamber recognizes the significant positive impact nuclear energy can have on South Carolina’s economy.” Member since March 2011

Impact of nuclear in your community: “South Carolina is home to five nuclear energy facilities, which provide us with the electricity we need to power our homes and places of business.”

Impact of nuclear on your organization: “The South Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce believes that competition and innovation in the marketplace are vital to the success of the economy.  Competition and innovation in the energy industry is no different.   By pursuing new technologies, including new nuclear technologies, we help meet rising energy demands and stimulate our local, state, and national economies, allowing us to be more competitive in an increasingly globalized marketplace.”

Most important benefit of nuclear: “Nuclear energy is a sustainable and safe source of electricity and contributes to the growth of the communities and the economy of South Carolina.”

Most interesting nuclear fact: “The nuclear energy industry takes meticulous care of the nation’s facilities and is constantly improving its practices to make these safe facilities even safer.”

A lesson for your community: “It is important that the people in the community understand that nuclear energy is safe.  Nuclear energy facilities are designed to protect the American public, and are subject to oversight by a strong, independent regulator, known as the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).”

If you are a member and interested in sharing your perspective on why nuclear energy matters to you, please let us know!

To read the full Web story, click here.

CASEnergy involvement: “I joined CASEnergy while living in Idaho Falls, a pro-nuclear town where Dr. Patrick Moore spoke in 2007.  Joining the coalition was a no-brainer.” Member since 2009

Impact of nuclear in your community: “In Ohio there are two nuclear reactors providing electricity to meet the state’s energy needs.  However, Ohio still relies on coal to generate 82 percent of the electricity used in the state. Because nuclear has the potential to meet rising energy demands without generating greenhouse gas emissions it is a vital part of America’s clean energy portfolio.”

Most important benefit of nuclear: “Nuclear energy is a cost-efficient source of emission-free electricity.”

Most interesting nuclear fact: “Most people don’t know that the fuel cycle for the nuclear industry directly benefits the solar energy industry. The chemical compound uranium hexafluoride (UF6) is used to enrich the uranium that produces fuel for nuclear reactors. The recovered fluoride is used to make solar cells.”

A lesson for your community: “Most people just flip the switch but don’t think about where the power comes from.  I’d like to make more people aware of the contribution that nuclear energy makes to the nation’s economy.”

Follow Dan: to learn more about Dan’s perspective on nuclear energy follow him @djysrv, or check out his blog, Idaho Samizdat.

Photo courtesy of Constellation Energy Nuclear Group

Among the highlights were the turbine room (pictured above, in front of the Westinghouse designed turbine) and the main control room which we viewed from above.

Our group of 17 included representatives from the American Association of Blacks in Energy, the Greater Washington andNational Urban Leagues, the National Association of Neighborhoods and Lincoln University, and we would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the folks at Calvert Cliffs and Constellation Energy Nuclear Group for making this possible.

Interested in a video tour of a nuclear facility?  Check out our blog post from March 2011 with a link to the NBC TODAY’s tour of Entergy’s Waterford 3 Nuclear Power plant in Killona, La. Please visit our website for more photos from the tour.

Bottom line, nuclear energy is fundamental to our nation’s domestic energy security and will be the driver of American job creation. Emission-free sources like nuclear power already supply 20 percent of our country’s safe, reliable and affordableelectricity. And with our nation’s electricity needs forecast to grow 24 percent by 2035, nuclear must be part of the energy mix to meet our country’s growth without polluting the air.

A memorable part of my trip was meeting with the bright-eyed, intelligent students pursuing careers in environmental science and nuclear energy at the College of Southern Maryland and American University. The U.S. nuclear energy industry is more than a sensible career path for young individuals as it provides tens of thousands of high-paying, permanent, clean energy jobs which cannot be outsourced. Nuclear energy is a domestically produced, sustainable source in the United States and facilities can operate up to 60 years, which is essentially a lifetime guarantee for employment.

I’ve based my career around the protection of the environment, and nuclear energy does a great deal to further that goal. It’s refreshing to see young individuals pursue similar dreams that will not only enrich their personal lives but also benefit our nation as a whole.

Please visit our YouTube page for more coverage from my trip.

Click here to view the embedded video.

After the East Coast earthquake on Aug. 23, North Anna safely shut down and diesel generators powered safety systems, as designed, until off-site power was restored the next day. The NRC set aside ample time to triple-check the facilities’ systems and components before putting it back on the grid to produce electricity. While it was determined that the amount of ground motion from the Aug. 23 earthquake was more than North Anna was expected to be able to handle, comprehensive safety inspections revealed no operative damage to the reactors or safety components.

American nuclear energy facilities are designed to withstand the most powerful of disasters within a 200 mile radius of sites. Independent scientists collect local information and historical data, including local geology and seismology analysis, to ensure nuclear facilities can endure forces even more powerful than expected. The American nuclear energy industry is also the most highly-regulated in the world, which is why the NRC was committed to re-verifying the facility to not only meet, but exceed every safety equirement after the quake.

After two months of thorough oversight activities and inspections by both the NRC and Dominion, the facility received the “OK,” and operators started the process of bringing the reactors back online, which typically takes 10 days.  Dominion expects the reactors to be operating at 100 percent by early next week.

Have questions about the review process to bring a plant back online after a routine shutdown?  Send them our way!

Gov. Whitman writes:

 Today, a total of 104 nuclear reactors are operational around the country. They provide about 20 percent of the country’s total electricity. No other electricity source can combine the benefits of knowing that it will always be on with its affordability and its lack of emissions.

 The operational price, excluding the costs of building the power plant, is about 2 cents per kilowatt hour — a third less than coal and half of the price of gas.

This cheap, always available, zero-carbon power is an important backstop to the growth of new technologies. It can help smooth the price fluctuations that natural gas is vulnerable to and it provides the “always on” capacity that renewable power cannot.

Interested in Gov. Whitman’s thoughts on nuclear energy? Check out this blog post she recently wrote for Clean Energy Buzz. Also, stay tuned to our blog andTwitter handle for some upcoming media interviews with Gov. Whitman.

Lester points to the fact that nuclear energy is an option that is essential for the U.S. in reducing its environmental footprint while meeting growing energy demands, stating that “it’s inconceivable that we can achieve the kinds of carbon-emission reductions that we’re going to need to achieve without significant increases in nuclear.” Lester notes that the carbon-emissions issue is so pressing today, that the U.S. must take advantage of all low-carbon energy sources, with nuclear and other renewable options leading the way.

Lester also discusses the financial benefits of nuclear, pointing out that efficiency and low-fuel costs make nuclear a key in achieving economic growth and prosperity. The average nuclear energy facility today generates almost $20 million in state and local tax revenue annually, which ultimately can benefit schools, roads, and other state and local infrastructure.

The segment also points to President Obama’s consistent support of nuclear, both pre- and post-Fukushima, and his decision to build two new nuclear energy facilities at the Plant Vogtle site in Georgia.

You can take a look at the segment in the video below.

Click here to view the embedded video.