News & Events

Introduction
Good morning. It is a great pleasure and a great privilege to be with you this morning to give you an update on what’s happening in the American nuclear industry and what it might mean for new nuclear build in Europe, Canada and the rest of the world.

In the United States, the prospects for nuclear energy today are more promising than they have been for many, many years—since the energy crises of the 1970s, in fact.

I want to leave you with five key points.

Point No. 1:  We are on the verge of a major resurgence of the nuclear power industry in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Energy predicts a 45 percent increase in electricity demand by 2030, just as existing U.S. nuclear plant licenses begin to expire.

This increased demand must be met by all available energy sources: nuclear, clean coal, natural gas, wind, solar and geothermal.

The growing public support for new nuclear plants does not reflect allegiance to the technology.

Companies planning investments in new nuclear in the United States are doing so because they are concerned about rising and volatile fossil fuel prices, unsustainable demands on natural gas supply, and increasing environmental pressures and costs of burning fossil fuels.

In this environment, nuclear energy is an attractive business proposition—providing large amounts of baseload electricity, safely and reliably, at a stable price, with no greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which provided stimulus for investment in electric power infrastructure, including nuclear plants.

Nine companies or groups of companies are developing license applications for at least 12 and perhaps as many as 19 new plants.  The first wave of these new plants will begin operating in the 2014–15 timeframe.