NEWS RELEASE

NEI Applauds House-Senate Conference Report on National Energy Policy Legislation

WASHINGTON—The following is a statement by Joe F. Colvin, the Nuclear Energy Institute’s president and chief executive officer, regarding agreement by House and Senate conferees on national energy policy legislation:

“Congress is taking a much-needed step toward ensuring the electricity we need for our nation’s energy security, economic growth and environmental well-being. The conference report includes provisions that provide consumers with a diverse mix of energy production sources as well as continuing energy conservation and efficiency measures.

“Significantly, this far-reaching legislation strongly supports continued reliance on nuclear energy. Amid the many elements to ensure a broad-based electricity generation mix, the bill appropriately includes a provision to stimulate the construction of a new wave of advanced-design, emission-free nuclear power plants that will power economic growth and help protect our air quality for generations to come. The production tax credits that will be made available on a limited basis for the first new plants fit hand-in-glove with the existing wind energy tax credit and the tax credit provisions in this bill for new coal-fired power plants.

“Nuclear energy provides electricity to one of every five homes and businesses today and is a vital part of our future energy supply. The conference report addresses long-term issues of energy security through diversity by its support of nuclear industry research that will greatly contribute to the development of advanced reactors—including a nuclear-powered hydrogen demonstration project at the Idaho National Laboratory. The advanced reactor will be able to produce electricity more efficiently, incorporate state-of-the-art safety features and set the stage for emission-free nuclear energy to play a major role in hydrogen generation.

“We applaud the energy bill conferees for moving this important legislation forward and urge members of the Senate and House to approve this energy roadmap for our nation.”


The Nuclear Energy Institute is the nuclear energy industry’s policy organization. This news release and additional information about nuclear energy are available on NEI’s Internet site at http://www.nei.org.