NEI Nuclear Notes

Earlier today, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) gave a speech at the Detroit Economic Club entitled, " Strengthening Our Economy & Protecting Our Environment: An Update from Capitol Hill ". The Wall Street Journal reports: At a Detroit Economic Club luncheon, Mr. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said he is determined to craft an economy-wide "cap-and-trade" policy to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and that it is time to ask whether the federal mileage regime, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, "does, will or can do the job it was meant to address." Instead of focusing on CAFE, Mr. Dingell in his prepared remarks proposed crafting legislation that spreads the emissions-regulation burden "evenly and equally," among several industries, including oil companies and electric utilities. Standing by on a transcript from Rep. Dingell's office. Meanwhile, back in Washington ... Earlier...

Just off the wire : On Monday, February 12, 2007, the Detroit Economic Club (DEC) is pleased to host Anthony Earley, Jr., chairman & CEO, DTE Energy. The meeting will be held at noon at The Masonic in Detroit, MI. Within the decade, Michigan - and the rest of the nation - will need more electricity. It is no longer a question of whether there will be new nuclear plants in our future. The conversation has shifted to how many, where and when. Seven in ten Americans now favor the use of nuclear energy to produce electricity. What's changed and why? What can derail this source of clean power? In his speech, titled, "The Nuclear Renaissance: Is It Real?" Anthony Earley, Jr. will share his perspectives and talk about the challenges and opportunities facing the nuclear energy industry. The idea to get industry executives speaking to more audiences outside the nuclear industry actually originated with NEI. Kudos to my colleagues who helped set this up.

Have you ever heard of Union Products ? Probably not, but I'm guessing that you've probably seen the item their best known for: The plastic Pink Flamingo . They've made millions of them over the years, but they closed their doors yesterday because of rising energy costs , in particular, the rising cost of natural gas. Here's how our friends at NAM Blog put it: Union Products is closing its doors because of RISING COSTS for plastic resin and electricity, in addition to some financing problems, according to the AP article. Plastic resin is a chemical product and the basic feedstock for it is natural gas. And many public utilities use natural gas as a power source. Congress has failed to open new areas for U.S. natural gas production, (we have vast reserves of it). So we can lay the demise of yet another manufacturing facility at the feet of those in Congress who have stalled and killed off several measures pushed this year to ease this cost pressure. Just another concr...

With NEI's President & CEO Marv Fertel set to address the Detroit Economic Club at next week's National Summit , this New York Times article, Michigan Tries to Renew Itself Without King Auto , caught our eye today. For all the talk of California’s economic woes, the distress in Michigan is greater. About 800,000 jobs have been lost in the state — about 1 in every 6 — since 2000, and its unemployment rate has reached 12.7 percent, higher than any other state. The fallout has been even worse in heavily populated southeastern Michigan. Manufacturing jobs in the seven-county region that includes Detroit have fallen 51 percent since the beginning of the decade, and auto-related positions have fallen 65 percent. Hmmm...wondering what type of industry would be looking to hire highly skilled workers who are familiar with steel, welding and parts assembly.

Earlier today, DTE Energy President and CEO Tony Earley delivered a speech on the future of nuclear energy at the Detroit Economic Club. In that speech, Early revealed that the company is pursuing plans for a possible new nuclear power plant at the company's Fermi site in Monroe, Michigan : When I addressed this group in 2002, my comments about nuclear energy were brief and pretty discouraging. I predicted that while most nuclear power plants would have their licenses renewed, no new nuclear power plants would be built in the U.S. to accommodate growing demand. Today I’m here to tell you that I was dead wrong. Despite the condition of our economy, within the next decade, Michigan—and the rest of our country, for that matter— will need more electricity … a lot more, and pollution-free nuclear power has to be an important part of the mix. Today I am pleased to announce that DTE Energy has started work on preparing a license application for a new nuclear plant at our existing F...