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Bowman: "America Needs Nuclear Energy Now!"

By Eric McErlain
That was the title of an address that NEI President and CEO Skip Bowman delivered at Town Hall Los Angeles yesterday afternoon. You can find a copy of the speech by clicking here.

Here's an excerpt:
I do not believe the United States was, or is, facing an imminent energy crisis. This nation is blessed with an abundance of energy resources, a robust portfolio of energy technologies and the most ingenious and innovative people on the planet.

No: We do not have a shortage of resources or technology. We have a shortage of investment.

We are not facing an energy crisis. We are facing an energy investment crisis.

America’s energy infrastructure and, in particular, the electricity infrastructure, has been starved for investment for more than a decade. The new energy policy legislation is designed to address that issue—to ensure that investment capital flows to where it is needed; to provide investment stimulus for advanced, more efficient, more economic, cleaner electric generation technologies...

Nuclear power plants have three distinguishing characteristics. First, they produce large volumes of low-cost electricity around the clock at extremely high levels of safety and reliability. Second, they produce electricity at a stable price, without the punishing volatility we see with gas-fired generating capacity. Third, nuclear plants help maintain our air quality.

Three attributes: Reliable, affordable electricity at low cost. Forward price stability. Clean air.

Other sources of electricity have one or two of these attributes, but only nuclear plants have all three. That is what makes nuclear energy a unique value proposition, and that is why America needs more nuclear energy now.
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