President Signs Energy Bill

President Bush has signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The president traveled to Albuquerque, N.M., today to sign the bill at Sandia National Laboratories, where he expressed his support for the legislation while also cautioning that it will not "solve our energy challenges overnight."

"This economy is moving, and what this energy bill does is that it recognizes that we need more affordable and reliability sources of energy," Bush said. "This bill launches an energy strategy for the 21st century, and I've really been looking forward to signing it."

UPDATE: Looks like a number of folks are happy. Here's a statement from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers:

IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill said the energy bill signed into law today represents a crucial first step in unifying the nation's haphazard energy policy, and presents real opportunities for broad cooperation on the road to common-sense energy reform.
The bill will expand the use of nuclear, wind, solar and clean coal energy, and further solidify the union's wide reach in traditional and renewable technologies. The IBEW will also gain from mandatory electricity reliability standards and initiatives to study the utility worker shortage and expand the electricity transmission infrastructure.

"After several years of squandered opportunities, the United States finally has set a clear path to address the nation's inadequate energy infrastructure," Hill said.

UPDATE: Here is an excerpt from President Bush's speech at the signing:

Nuclear power is another of America's most important sources of electricity. Of all our nation's energy sources, only nuclear power plants can generate massive amounts of electricity without emitting an ounce of air pollution or greenhouse gases. And thanks to the advances in science and technology, nuclear plants are far safer than ever before. Yet America has not ordered a nuclear plant since the 1970s. To coordinate the ordering of new plants, the bill I sign today continues the Nuclear Power 2010 Partnership between government and industry. It also offers a new form of federal risk insurance for the first six builders of new nuclear power plants. With the practical steps in this bill, America is moving closer to a vital national goal. We will start building nuclear power plants again by the end of this decade.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics

Comments

Norris McDonald said…

It was a great signing ceremony. I was delighted to be a guest of the White House for the signing. It was great to experience such an important moment in energy history.

August 9, 2005 at 2:25 PM

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