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APPA Resolution Calls for Streamlining of New Reactor Licensing

By Eric McErlain
From the American Public Power Association:
Members of the American Public Power Association today adopted unanimously a resolution urging Congress to “consider carefully all solutions for addressing climate change” and to incorporate 10 principles in any new federal policy designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). They said federal legislation must be economy-wide and apply to all industry sectors, consider the financial impact on consumers, and protect the ability of U.S. industries to compete in world markets. They also asked Congress to ensure that incentives for the development and deployment of renewable and clean energy are provided on a comparable basis to all sectors of the electric utility industry, including the not-for-profit, community- and state-owned public power sector.
Here are the relevant passages:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the American Public Power Association (APPA) supports efforts to provide the NRC with all the regulatory and statutory tools necessary to streamline the licensing of advanced nuclear generating facilities so as to shorten the time necessary to win final approval of an application for the operation of a new nuclear unit; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That APPA urges the Congress to pass legislation that may be necessary for the NRC to set in place a standard regime for the licensing of new nuclear plants that takes into account the “standard design” components of applicants so as to shorten the lengthy review process for the granting of final operating licenses; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That APPA urges the responsible federal agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to take steps to promptly implement the provisions contained in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to encourage the development of advanced nuclear generating facilities and for Congress to fully fund these provisions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That APPA urges the Congress to provide a comparable incentive to the production tax credit available to investor-owned utilities for public power systems to invest in building new generation nuclear plants and to reinstate the advance antitrust review for new nuclear plants eliminated in EPAct05.
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