Key Issues

By Marvin Fertel

There is tremendous potential for rebuilding the U.S. economy on green jobs, particularly as energy companies gear up to meet rising electricity demand. The nuclear energy industry already is creating tens of thousands of American green jobs in the first wave of this transition.

Nuclear energy is one of the few bright spots in the U.S. economy – expanding rather than contracting. That’s due to a growing consensus that any credible program to address climate change must include carbon-free technologies like nuclear energy.

Energy companies, mainly in the fast-growing Sun Belt, have filed federal permits to build up to 26 nuclear plants.  Betting on an increased emphasis on carbon-free nuclear energy to meet future power needs in the United States and elsewhere, reactor designers and manufacturers are expanding engineering centers and manufacturing facilities as well as their payrolls.

Green job growth has already begun in North Carolina, Tennessee and Pennsylvania and will spread to Virginia and Louisiana in the coming months.  In Lake Charles, La., the Shaw Group and Westinghouse will fabricate reactor modules at a 300-acre site that will employee 1,400 workers.  In Newport News, Va., Northrop Grumman and AREVA are building a new facility to manufacture massive reactor vessels and stream generators.

These and other companies already have hired more than 9,000 employees and invested $4 billion in developing new nuclear manufacturing and business operations. The Shaw-Westinghouse facility alone will generate 2,900 jobs—an economic horn of plenty for local officials.  In this case, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said “we know that we have to invest more in alternative domestic energy sources like wind, ethanol, solar and nuclear energy. This announcement does not only represent new jobs and a new, vibrant economic engine in our state, but also shows that Louisiana is harnessing the future of the energy industry and the most innovative thinking of the next generation.”

Tim Kaine said his state has “unique attributes” to position it as a leader in nuclear energy.  After the Newport News project was announced last October, the local newspaper focused on the single most important fact for local workers: Northrop Grumman + AREVA = 540 good jobs for Newport News. 

Engineering and manufacturing jobs are green jobs in today’s market and foretell the significant potential in the energy sector for stimulating the U.S. economy. 

The U.S. electricity industry faces an unprecedented challenge. It must invest up to $2 trillion in new power generation and distribution technology to meet an expected 25 percent increase in demand by 2030.  And it must do so assuming that there will be a price on carbon, currently a byproduct of 70 percent of the nation’s electricity production capability.  Of the emission-free sources, nuclear energy dominates today and has the most potential for large-scale expansion.

Nuclear energy must play an important role in helping America succeed in this challenge. Expanding nuclear power will help reduce the threat of global warming, meet the rising demand for electricity and stimulate the U.S. economy.  
     
Building a new generation of nuclear plants will create tens of thousands of dependable, good-paying jobs for American workers. Whether building new carbon-free nuclear power plants or a “smart” grid that will help use electricity more wisely, nuclear energy jobs are as green as any other low or non-carbon source of electricity.

A single nuclear plant will create 1,400 to 1,800 jobs during construction and 400 to 700 employees during the 60-year operating lifetime of the plant. Based on economic studies of 22 U.S. nuclear power plants, each year a new reactor will produce $430 million in local expenditures for goods, services and labor; generate more than $20 million in state and local tax revenue; and produce at least $75 million in federal tax payments. Construction of a new reactor also will provide a substantial boost to suppliers of commodities and manufacturers of hundreds of components.

An abundant supply of electricity is critical to preserving and advancing our quality of life, standard of living and national security. Affordable, reliable electricity is vital for America’s long-term economic success, but building all new sources of electricity is capital intensive. The pace of new nuclear plant development, and of job creation in this sector of the economy, is largely dictated by the financing support available from the federal government – particularly in today’s tight credit markets.  

Limited financial stimulus for wind, solar and advanced nuclear plants is appropriate to jumpstart this economic shift.  For example, the federal loan guarantee program passed by Congress for carbon-free energy sources will lower the cost of building new electricity supplies that will in turn keep consumer costs down. Best of all, it doesn’t use U.S. taxpayer money. Those companies that will pursue loan guarantees also will pay the fees associated with implementing the program.

However, $18.5 billion in loan guarantee volume approved by Congress in 2005 was swamped by applications from 17 companies seeking a total of $122 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear plant projects. The loan guarantee program alone doesn’t address the real need for $2 trillion in financing for the electricity sector over the next 15 years.

The economic and energy challenges facing our nation are daunting. We must have a national energy policy that develops carbon-free technologies, drives innovation to supply reliable electricity and creates jobs to help stimulate the U.S. economy. Nuclear energy is a vital part of the solution to these goals—producing 73 percent of all carbon-free electricity while creating tens of thousands of stable, high-paying jobs as part of a transition to a greener economy.

Marvin Fertel is acting president and CEO and the chief nuclear officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, D.C.