The News Tribune

By PATRICK MOORE

July 23, 2010

 As the U.S. gears up to develop sustainable methods to meet rising energy demand cleanly, few states are as well-positioned as Washington. Hydropower is a big contributor to the state’s carbon-free electricity supply, thanks to the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Washington ranks fifth out of all states for wind-power production. And the state has vast potential for geothermal energy.

Not as well known is the role that nuclear energy plays in protecting Washington’s atmosphere. Last year, nuclear energy generated in the state prevented 5.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of removing nearly 400,000 passenger cars. And nuclear reactors produce more than 70 percent of the country’s emissions-free electricity every year.

I am back in the Pacific Northwest this week as co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy), meeting with community, business and policy leaders in Seattle and Tacoma to make sure they are fully informed about the important role nuclear plays as part of the nation’s clean energy mix.

CASEnergy is a national grass-roots coalition comprising people from all across the country in business, labor, industry, academia, politics and the environmental community, united in their support of nuclear power as part of the country’s green energy portfolio.

The latest Gallup poll shows 62 percent of Americans – an all-time high – favor the use of nuclear energy. Earlier this month, Washington state Sens. Jerome Devlin and Larry Haler joined the newly formed bipartisan National Nuclear Caucus to demonstrate their support for the expansion of nuclear energy in Washington and around the country.

U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, has also endorsed the caucus and believes it will enable Congress to be better positioned to support new nuclear plants.

The industry’s support extends to the White House, as President Barack Obama has made nuclear energy a key component of his strategy to build a clean energy economy and put Americans back to work.

Earlier this year, he extended the first loan guarantee to the industry to help attract private financing for two new reactors in Georgia in what will be the state’s largest construction project, employing up to 3,500 workers. Over the last three years, in a period of dramatic economic constriction, the nuclear industry has created more than 15,000 jobs nationally.

Federal support has been critical to winning over investors who still remember the cost overruns in the 1980s. Fortunately, many of the conditions that led to past cost increases and construction delays no longer exist.

Nuclear reactor designs have become more standardized, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has developed a new approach that enables it to approve designs and sites up-front under a single license. The process has been restructured to ensure that design, safety, siting and public concerns are settled before a company starts building a new plant.

Nuclear plants may be more expensive to build than coal or gas, but they more than make up for their construction costs by providing consumers with one of the lowest-cost options for emissions-free electricity. At 2 cents per kilowatt-hour, nuclear-sourced energy is about 30 percent cheaper to produce than carbon-heavy coal, and about 60 percent cheaper than natural gas.

Washington is also primed to address the issue of spent fuel storage. Members of the president’s Blue Ribbon Commission were in Washington last week meeting with Gov. Chris Gregoire. One promising area they are exploring: recycling spent fuel in advanced reactors, as is done in France, Japan and Britain, which will greatly reduce the volume and radioactivity of the byproducts requiring disposal by reusing up to 95 percent of spent uranium.

Until a long-term solution is found, used fuel will continue to be safely and securely stored at each of the nation’s 104 reactor sites, as it has been for the past 30 years without incident.

Washington’s energy mix is a snapshot into the nation’s clean energy future – and with the state actively involved in supporting the nuclear industry’s growth, that picture is getting brighter every day.

Patrick Moore, Ph.D, is the co-chair of the nuclear industry-funded Clean and Safe Energy Coalition and co-founder of Greenpeace. Moore spoke Thursday to Tacoma Rotary #8 at the Landmark Temple Theatre.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/07/23/1274042/nuclear-power-an-important-part.html#ixzz0uoQSUFQV

July 26, 2010
By Christine Todd Whitman and Thomas D. Peterson
Special to Roll Call

By implementing policies that jointly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve homegrown and advanced energy solutions, and save precious energy and capital, Congress could move us toward a cleaner and more secure energy future, while creating jobs and growing the economy.

A study released last week by the Center for Climate Strategies identified 23 major sector-based policies that, if implemented as part of national policy, could add as many as 2.5 million net new jobs and $134.3 billion to the economy by 2020 while holding down energy prices and reducing harmful greenhouse gases to meet national targets.

The specific actions recommended in this report were identified after examining 16 comprehensive state climate action plans that the center helped develop through consensus building and input from more than 1,500 technical experts and stakeholders across the U.S. over the past five years.

This bottom-up strategy ensured that all available options were considered, that they were carefully analyzed, and that the most effective and acceptable were implemented.

The 23 actions the center identified include new clean energy sources for heat and power; improved energy efficiency and industrial processes; transportation and land use improvements; agriculture and forestry conservation; and expanded recycling and waste energy recovery. They were chosen because they have the potential to reduce pollution, they are cost-effective and improve energy, health, environment and economic development. They would be implemented through federal, state and local action under a national framework that sets the stage for longer-term strategies.

The Clean and Safe Energy Coalition’s “Policy Roadmap for Clean Energy” takes a similar broad-based portfolio approach to supporting clean energy technologies — including wind, solar and nuclear energy — while placing a premium on each industry’s potential for job creation and broader economic development.

The road map makes broad policy recommendations to chart a viable course for a sustainable clean energy policy, including the following:

1. Enact policies to take control of America’s energy security.

Ninety-five percent of the country’s transportation infrastructure is powered by oil, and more than half of it is imported. Federal support for electric and hybrid vehicles is a good start to avert this dependency, but those vehicles will only be as clean as their electricity source. The current electric grid won’t be able to handle large volumes of renewable energy technologies unless it’s modernized.

2. Ensure access to financing for clean energy projects.

Access to capital is the biggest hurdle for clean energy developers. Credit is still tight and private investors are leery of financing large infrastructure projects without guaranteed rates of return. Federal incentives, such as clean energy loan guarantees, help ease access to capital markets and ultimately reduce the cost of electricity to consumers.

3. Increase investment in clean energy jobs.

Training a new generation of workers is vital because much of the clean energy industry’s work force will be eligible to retire during the next decade. Tens of thousands of clean energy jobs could be created if all the clean energy projects are supported. Nearly 1,000 workers are engaged in pre-construction activities for new nuclear reactors in Georgia and South Carolina alone. Federal job-training grants are critical to ensure that eligible companies in the clean energy supply chain will be able to fill high-paying jobs with American workers.

If state and local leaders and thousands of their stakeholders across the nation can find a pathway to a comprehensive energy and climate policy at the subnational level, surely Congress can do the same for our nation.

Both the Center for Climate Strategies report and Clean and Safe Energy Coalition policy recommendations conclude that a broad-based energy portfolio, with a focus on low-carbon sources, is essential to America’s energy, environmental and economic transition. Without policy direction now, we will cede U.S. leadership in developing these clean energy sources to other nations and miss an opportunity to begin implementing game-changing energy technology.

Christine Todd Whitman is the former Republican governor of New Jersey and former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. She is a co-chair of the industry-funded Clean and Safe Energy Coalition. Thomas D. Peterson is the president and CEO of the Center for Climate Strategies and a teaching fellow in governmental studies at Johns Hopkins University.

To read the full story on Roll Call’s website, click here.

SENATE MAJORITY Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) intends to bring an energy bill to the Senate floor the week of July 26. It will feature four key elements — a response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, promotion of energy efficiency, a boost for clean-energy production and a cap on carbon emissions from power plants. This is not ideal, but it would be a useful start.

The carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels adds to the greenhouse effect that threatens to bring destructive changes to the planet. Decreasing those emissions demands innovation — the development of greener and cheaper sources of energy such as wind, solar and nuclear power — and the use of economic incentives to wean industries off cheap coal and oil. To provide such an incentive, we have has long favored putting a price on carbon, either (most simply) with a gradually rising tax or with a cap-and-trade system. By gradually increasing the cost to companies of the carbon dioxide they produce, the United States can generate revenue and marshal market forces to encourage businesses to invest in greener technology. To this end, even a limited cap — like the one on utilities emissions proposed in the Senate bill — is better than none. Once a structure is in place, a cap can be expanded to encompass more industries and adjusted to drive innovation in the right direction.

Moreover, power generation is the right industry to target: Power plants account for 40 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, and many utilities already have gotten on board with the concept of a cap. Rather than simply opposing the cap out of hand, as many have in the past, Republicans should help make sure that it works sensibly. Much will hinge on how the carbon allowances are allocated. The best model would auction the allowances and use the funds generated to provide rebates to consumers and encourage research and development of improved green technologies. Such a model would make the measure more palatable to taxpayers and drive more responsible energy use. Some utilities already are lobbying Congress, in exchange for accepting the carbon cap, to delay or loosen Clean Air Act restrictions on other forms of pollution, including smog and mercury poisoning. That’s a bad deal. Fixing the long-term problem of carbon emissions should not come at the cost of worsening short-term environmental problems.

The Reid proposal is less ambitious than the stillborn bipartisan attempt of Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), and far less ambitious than the Waxman-Markey bill passed by the House. But in the current economic and political climate, it offers a reasonable compromise that could lay the groundwork for a sensible carbon policy.

To see the story at www.thewashingtonpost.com, click here.

Christine Todd Whitman and Juan C. Zapata, SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Updated: 5:49 p.m. Friday, July 9, 2010

Published: 5:34 p.m. Friday, July 9, 2010

This week, the nation’s leading Latino and other community leaders are meeting in San Antonio for the National Council of La Raza’s annual conference. The conference will provide special focus needed on economic challenges, especially those affecting Latino communities. The national unemployment rate among Latinos is 12.4 percent, higher than the national average of just under 10 percent.

One of the opportunities we have to kick-start job creation is by focusing on how we produce, use and conserve energy. America’s electricity demand is poised to rise 23 percent by 2030 and the need in Texas will be double that at 48 percent. Meeting that demand responsibly is going to require an investment in a diverse range of clean energy sources.

Of the clean energy technology options available now, none is better-suited than nuclear energy at supplying large amounts of electricity that does not pollute the air, together with creating thousands of badly needed jobs. That’s particularly the case in Texas, where two proposed reactors at NRG Energy’s South Texas Project in Matagorda County will put some 6,000 people to work building those power plants.

Nuclear energy facilities act as economic hubs in local communities by luring new businesses and increasing a tax base that provides good schools, libraries and other critical infrastructure. NRG estimates the two new reactors at South Texas Project will generate more than $15 billion in follow-on business activity, along with $600 million in local and state tax revenues.

And because nuclear energy is emissions-free when producing power, each additional plant prevents carbon emissions from fossil fuel plants that would otherwise fill the air. Texas’s four reactors prevented 29 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere last year – the equivalent or removing nearly 1 million passenger vehicles from the road. That’s a significant environmental benefit given that four Texas cities fall below Environmental Protection Agency standards for air quality and Austin teeters on the brink of falling below those standards.

Nuclear energy’s economic and environmental benefits have helped the Clean and Safe Energy (CASEnergy) Coalition, a group to which Rep. Zapata belongs and which I co-chair along with Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore, form a broad-based coalition of more than 2,400 members who support the industry’s expansion. That support is especially strong here in Texas, where CASEnergy members include local Latino leaders such as State Senator Leticia Van de Putte and Ramiro Cavazos, president and CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Support is growing in Texas and across the country. A recent Gallup polled showed that 62 percent of Americans – an all-time high – favor the use of nuclear energy to produce electricity. This favorability is due, in part, to the industry’s excellent safety record in recent years. South Texas Project, for example, recently logged its 10 millionth labor hour without a significant worker injury or accident. This commitment to worker safety also extends to safe operation of the plant, which generated 22.4 million megawatt-hours of electricity in 2009—enough to power 2 million homes and more than any other dual-reactor power plant in the country.

President Obama has recognized the importance of nuclear power to the nation’s energy portfolio. In May, he asked Congress to approve $9 billion in additional loan guarantee authority so that proposed new reactors such as the two at South Texas Project could move forward quickly and put Americans back to work.

Consideration of nuclear energy in Congress has drawn bipartisan support in part because of the tremendous job creation potential of reinstating America as a leader in this industry. As President Obama said in April: “Make no mistake: whether it is nuclear energy, or solar or wind energy, if we fail to invest in these technologies today, we’ll be importing them tomorrow.” We should be taking a leadership role and creating jobs, not moving more American jobs offshore.

Of course, nuclear energy alone can’t meet all of our electricity needs. As Texas has discovered as the nation’s leader in wind power, America will have to develop a full suite of clean energy sources, including wind, solar and geothermal. Natural gas must continue to be a bridge fuel to this cleaner energy portfolio. We must conserve more energy as well.

CASEnergy members here in Texas and elsewhere are meeting with other stakeholders to find common ground on our energy future. Our coalition recently joined with leaders from the manufacturing, economic development and wind energy sectors to release a “Policy Roadmap for Clean Energy,” which makes the case for a diverse U.S. clean energy portfolio that places a premium on job creation.

One area on which we are keenly focused is investment in workforce training. New nuclear power plants have the potential to create as many as 70,000 jobs in the coming years, and we need to act now to ensure our workers are adequately trained to take those jobs.

Nothing lifts a community like good-paying, stable jobs and industries. Today, Texas has the opportunity to strengthen its communities, meet its growing electricity demand, and improve its air quality. Nuclear energy is poised to help deliver on these goals.

Whitman is a former administrator of the EPA and governor of New Jersey and co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy), a national grassroots coalition that promotes the economic and environmental benefits of nuclear energy as part of a green-energy economy. Zapata, a Florida state representative, serves as chairman of the NALEO Education Fund and Board of Hispanic Caucus Chairs (BHCC)and is a member of CASEnergy. To read more about the “Policy Roadmap for Clean Energy,” visit www.cleansafeenergy.org.

Lansing State Journal (Letter-to-the-Editor)

June 16, 2010

The LSJ’s June 2 editorial (“Michigan is pivoting away from coal“) neglected to mention one of the most efficient sources of clean energy: nuclear power.

As Michigan grapples with the challenges coal and oil pose, we should recognize that nuclear energy produces virtually zero carbon emissions and, as a 24/7 baseload power source, can help address climate change concerns by cleanly meeting rising electricity demand. Nuclear power also uses less land than any other energy source and costs less per kwh to produce the same amount of electricity.

More nuclear plants will create tens of thousands of new jobs. The Clean and Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy), of which I am a member, recently joined with leaders from the manufacturing, economic development and wind energy sectors to unveil a “Policy Roadmap for Clean Energy,” which calls for investment in nuclear energy jobs and training across the U.S. Details are at www.cleansafeenergy.org.

When planning Michigan’s clean energy future, expanding nuclear energy is a necessary step toward economic expansion, reducing greenhouse gases and maintaining a reliable electricity grid.

Larry Stone

Lansing

To see Larry Stone’s letter-to-the-editor on LSJ.com, please click here.

The Post and Courier (Op-Ed)

Friday, June 18, 2010

Business and policy leaders in the U.S. and South Carolina have the chance to generate substantial, long-term economic benefits, protect the environment, and address long-term energy needs, all by supporting innovation and expansion of clean energy industries.

One such clean energy source is nuclear energy, which generates over 70 percent of all carbon-free electricity in America. The nation will need 23 percent more electricity by 2030 — and more nuclear energy will be needed in order to meet that rising demand without producing air pollution or greenhouse gases.

South Carolina is already a national leader in nuclear energy. The state is home to seven reactors that produce more than 50 percent of the state’s power. Two more reactors are being developed by Santee Cooper and SCANA at the Summer plant in Fairfield County and Duke Energy has filed license applications for two additional reactors in Cherokee County. Today more than 600 workers are already engaged in preconstruction work on-site. And when these reactors are built, the construction phase alone could employ approximately 3,000 people for three to four years, with 600 to 800 additional fulltime jobs for South Carolina workers after construction is completed.

These jobs aren’t limited to the plant — for every permanent job created at a nuclear plant, two to three jobs are created in the surrounding community. These are permanent jobs that can’t be shipped overseas — welcome news for a state with 11.6 percent unemployment.

However, in order to remain on a sustainable path, continued investment in new nuclear energy facilities — and the reliable electricity and jobs that these new plants produce — is needed. The good news is that nuclear energy technology is poised for dramatic growth. The nuclear energy industry stands ready to provide thousands of long-term, high-paying jobs at new plants, and due to retirement rates for the current industry work force, thousands of new jobs will become available at existing plants.

Thirty-five percent of the current nuclear industry work force may be eligible to retire within five years, and

almost half of the nuclear engineers in the Carolinas will be eligible for retirement within three years. Nationally, the industry will provide opportunities for approximately 19,600 workers to replace retirees and 6,300 to account for other attrition before 2012.

This expansion would also boost the state’s economic base, as each of the more than 100 nuclear reactors in operation around the country contributes an estimated $430 million a year in goods and services for the neighboring area, along with nearly $40 million in total labor income, according to the Clean and Safe Energy (CASEnergy) Coalition, a national grassroots coalition that I co-chair along with former EPA administrator Christie Whitman. The coalition supports new nuclear plants on both economic and environmental grounds.

Last month, the CASEnergy Coalition joined leaders from the manufacturing, economic development and wind energy sectors to unveil a ‘Policy Roadmap for Clean Energy,’ which advocates a diverse U.S. clean energy portfolio that places a premium on job creation.

The roadmap makes four broad policy recommendations:

1 – Enact policies to take control of America’s energy security

2 – Ensure access to financing for clean energy projects

3 – Increase investment in clean energy jobs

4 – Address storage needs for used nuclear fuel

There’s no reason that such economic development, energy security and clean air benefits should be limited when so many state economies stand to benefit from building new nuclear energy plants.

Energy companies are motivated and ready to hire, creating thousands of new jobs that will help the country meet its growing electricity needs while preserving the environment. With targeted policy support, we can help ensure that nuclear energy’s economic and environmental benefits are enjoyed in South Carolina and around the country.

Dr. Patrick Moore is a co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace and co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy), a national grassroots coalition that promotes the benefits of nuclear energy as part of a green-energy economy.

A link to Dr. Patrick Moore’s opinion editorial on postandcourier.com can be found here.

Support for the Expansion of Nuclear Power and Clean Energy at an All Time High

WASHINGTON, DC, April 22, 2010 – As the United States marks the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day, leaders of the Clean and Safe Energy (CASEnergy) Coalition praise Americans’ growing support of emission-free nuclear power as part of the effort to meet the 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions recommended by President Obama and Congress. In order to meet these reductions, 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 conservation efforts.

Nuclear energy is an important component of the United States’ diverse energy mix as it produces 20 percent of the nation’s electricity and nearly 75 percent of the nation’s clean energy.

Even with increased conservation and efficiency measures, the U.S. will need 23 percent more electricity by 2030. Nuclear energy is a 24/7 base load power source which can meet that demand both cleanly and reliably. With growing electricity needs and climate change concerns top of mind, support for nuclear energy is at an all-time high. According to the most recent Gallup poll released late last month, 62% of Americans favor the use of nuclear power, the highest percentage since Gallup began polling on the topic in 1994.

U.S. energy policy recommendations reflect the consensus building behind nuclear expansion, evidenced by President Obama’s recent announcement to allocate $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees to build two new reactors in Georgia and create thousands of new jobs. The president also has recommended tripling the budget for loan guarantees for new nuclear energy facilities.

“This is a remarkable time for those working for clean energy solutions.” said CASEnergy co-chair and former leader of Greenpeace, Dr. Patrick Moore. “The renewed investment in nuclear energy as part of a clean energy policy demonstrates America is serious about reducing air pollution. The round-the-clock baseload production of nuclear energy can power our homes and businesses while creating high paying jobs that cannot be shipped overseas, all without polluting our air.”

This renewed commitment to nuclear energy is good news for the nation’s economy. As the U.S. addresses future electricity production needs and climate change issues, the construction of new nuclear power plants will infuse the economy with much needed new jobs.

Work is well underway for the construction of two nuclear energy plants in Georgia and South Carolina. In Georgia, more than 700 people are already working at state’s largest-ever construction project. At peak construction, about 3,500 new jobs will be created and there will be up to 800 full-time positions once the reactors are producing electricity.

“Nuclear energy projects are the kind of economic boost America needs right now,” explained Christine Todd Whitman, CASEnergy co-chair and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. “With more than 20 reactors under consideration by the NRC, just imagine what this will mean for America’s struggling economy. While it is not the sole answer to the challenges we face – we can, and must, use more renewable energy and do much more to encourage conservation, but we must also recognize that neither of these approaches, alone, will give us the reliable affordable power we need now and in the future. If we are going to keep our economy growing and our country strong, we need a complete package of approaches to energy and nuclear energy should be a part of the mix.”

To learn more about nuclear energy as a clean and reliable source of energy, please visit: http://www.cleansafeenergy.org

# # #

About The CASEnergy Coalition:

The CASEnergy Coalition is a national grassroots coalition of more than 2,300 members that unites unlikely allies across the business, environmental, academic, consumer and labor community to support nuclear energy. We believe that nuclear energy can improve energy security, ensure clean air quality, and enhance the quality of life and economic well-being of all Americans.

The Coalition is led by Co-Chairs 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.  For more information about the CASEnergy Coalition, please visit http://www.cleansafeenergy.org.

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.