Good afternoon. It's a privilege for me to be here addressing you. I have the greatest admiration for the work of Rotary International - your humanitarian efforts and your exceptional programs to promote international peace and goodwill.

And I must say I'm happy to be here in Alabama - and not just because you get more than a quarter of your electricity from nuclear energy. It's always good to visit with my friends Jim Miller and George Hairston. The consistently high level of excellence achieved by the Southern Company, Alabama Power Company and Southern Nuclear is among the reasons why the present state of nuclear energy is so strong, and why the future holds so much promise.

I want to talk to you today about the reasons for that healthy outlook -- what we call America's Nuclear Renaissance. I assure you the renaissance didn't happen by accident. The commitment, technical expertise and plain old hard work of companies such as Southern Nuclear at Plant Farley in Dothan and their other locations have built an unparalleled record of safety and reliability for nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy produces electricity for one out of every five homes and businesses in the United States. It is safe, economical, emission free, reliable — more importantly than ever — nuclear fuel and nuclear technology are available in abundance right here in the U.S. These advantages are important now, but are absolutely vital to our energy future.

Because of these advantages, and the performance of Southern Nuclear and all 103 reactors nationwide, nuclear energy is an energy and environmental imperative.

In 2000, America's nuclear plants operated at a record 90 percent efficiency — by far the most efficient power plants in the country. That's well over 10 percent better than at the beginning of the '90s. Even the bottom 25 percent of U.S. plants are now performing better than the best plants did a decade ago. And in case you're interested, both Farley reactors rank among the best - each set performance records over the past couple of years before its most recent refueling.

How does the record efficiency translate to electricity output? Another record in 2000 of 754 billion kilowatt-hours, one we're likely to beat when the final numbers come in for 2001. Nuclear production increased 23 percent during the last 10 years. So in reality, the increase output from nuclear energy over the last decade is the equivalent of 23 "virtual" new nuclear plants.

And we're extremely proud that we increased our energy output while improving our safety record. By every measure, nuclear energy has the best safety record of any major industry in the country — including industries that primarily consist of office workers.

Nuclear energy has also become the low-cost leader in the electricity market. In 1999, the latest year for which we have complete information, production costs for nuclear energy fell to 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour, while production costs for coal were 2 cents, 3.2 cents for oil and 3.5 cents for natural gas. Nuclear production costs continued to fall in 2000 while the price of other energy plant fuels - particularly natural gas - continued to rise. Our first look at the numbers for 2001 tells us that nuclear production costs continue to come in well below other fuels.

Prices for electricity from nuclear energy should remain stable well into the future. You can't say the same about other fuel sources. California's electricity troubles last year were partly attributable to a spike in the cost of natural gas used for electricity. Nuclear energy's price stability is one reason why many large users of electricity are locking in long-term contracts with energy companies - like Southern Company - that have a large share of nuclear energy in their electricity production mix.

Another attribute of nuclear energy that might not show up on the bottom line — but is of tremendous value to you and me — is its environmental benefit. Nuclear energy is the only emission-free source of electricity widely available to us. It also helps to protect valuable ecosystems, for instance at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant on the Chesapeake

Emissions of carbon and greenhouse gases are a major concern in the United States. That's why the Department of Energy started its voluntary carbon reduction program — as a way for Americans to take an active role in keeping our air clean. The nuclear energy industry is proud that our increases in efficiency account for more than 40 percent of carbon reductions in the industrial sector — more than any other American industry.

Here in Alabama, in 2000, the operation of the state's four nuclear plants avoid more than 170,000 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, 90,000 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions and 7.2 million tons of carbon emissions. That's the amount of emissions that would have been produced if the nuclear electricity had been produced using fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas.

Nuclear energy plays a vital role in meeting Clean Air Act standards. In fact, America's Clean Air regulations were developed on the assumption that nuclear plants will always be a major component of our energy mix. If, for instance, nuclear-generated electricity were not available, we would have to eliminate about 123 million passenger cars to keep carbon dioxide emissions at current levels.

Nuclear energy's safety and performance are also increasing public and policymaker support to record high levels. The latest numbers show that most Americans appreciate the nuclear plants we have, and a clear majority - almost 6 out of 10 -- favor building new nuclear power plants. Our latest poll was taken not long after the events of September 11, and support for new nuclear plants dropped only slightly from the record high of 63 percent earlier last year. It is gratifying to know that the strength of public support for nuclear energy has not been shaken by fears about security.

We're equally pleased with the support we're getting from the Administration and the Congress. The Administration fully recognizes the importance of nuclear energy. President Bush and Vice President Cheney have both strongly emphasized that nuclear energy must be part of a balanced national energy supply in the future.

The Congress also has been very supportive of nuclear energy. Pivotal legislation was introduced last year that would strengthen nuclear energy's role. And few delegations have been more favorable than Alabama's. I want to particularly single out the contributions of Sen. Jeff Sessions and Rep. Sonny Callahan, who are among the more active supporters of nuclear energy in Washington.

Another key issue that is nearing resolution is the government's legal obligation to dispose of used nuclear fuel. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has formally announced his intention to recommend to President Bush that, after 20 years and $7 billion in studies, the government locate its repository for used nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. If, as expected, Nevada challenges the recommendation, it will be up to the Congress to settle the issue, which we hope it will do affirmatively.

Let me just address the issue of security briefly. I know that Southern Nuclear and TVA have assured the people of Alabama that their nuclear plants are safe. Since September 11, the nation's nuclear facilities have been on the highest state of alert - even though they are very difficult "targets."

The plants themselves are massive — constructed of multiple layers of thick, steel-reinforced concrete that protect the reactor.

In addition, perimeter security, state-of-the-art detection and access systems, and well-trained, well-armed and experienced security officers protect these facilities 24/7.

One action in Washington that we're not happy about is the proposed legislation to federalize the security forces at nuclear facilities. I can assure you that the current security guard force is highly trained and experienced. Two-thirds of our security officers have previous military, police or industrial experience. Replacing the effective private force with federal officers would be costly, duplicative would not further the objective of enhanced safety.

The Nuclear Energy Institute has been working with government at all levels — including the new Office of Homeland Security - to forestall ill-considered and hasty actions, and to coordinate the development of a seamless responsibility for security among local and state law enforcement, the private sector, and the military, if necessary.

The superior safety and economic performance of the nation's nuclear facilities have naturally made them much more valuable assets to their owners, as well as to the country.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has revolutionized its process for renewing the initial 40-year plant operating licenses for another 20 years, and operators of most nuclear plants are expected to apply for license renewal. Eight nuclear plants have already renewed their licenses, including, earlier this month, Southern Nuclear's two Hatch reactors in Georgia. Twelve more license renewal applications are pending before the NRC, and we expect that all four of Alabama's nuclear plants will seek license renewal next year.

It is good news that nuclear plants will continue to be major contributors to our energy and environmental policy, but the country has both an insatiable appetite for electricity and a need to protect the environment. That creates a challenge...and an opportunity ... for nuclear energy.

Companies such as Southern Nuclear have worked together through the Nuclear Energy Institute to develop a detailed, ambitious plan for realizing the promise of nuclear energy. We call it Vision 2020, and its goal is an additional 50,000 megawatts of nuclear energy generation - about 50 new large nuclear plants — by the year 2020, along with 10,000 megawatts more from continued improvements at today's plants.

The Department of Energy projects that the nation will need about 40 percent more electricity within 20 years to meet our growing demand. That is if demand grows at about 1.8 percent annually.

But actual demand during the '90s grew faster - at about 2.2 percent a year. And if demand over the next two decades grows at only 2.5 percent a year — a reasonable level of growth in a healthy economy — we will need a total of 564,000 megawatts of new electric generation capacity within 20 years.

As the nation's only expandable source of emission-free, baseload electricity, nuclear energy must continue to be a major electricity source for Alabama and the United States.

That dramatic increase in energy generation in the next two decades - coupled with the ever-strengthening linkage between energy and environmental policy — prompted the nuclear energy industry to develop Vision 2020 — a new and dynamic strategic plan for the future.

Vision 2020 consists of a set of specific and achievable goals that we can fulfill by the year 2020, and a detailed plan of action to get from here to there.

That means adding enough new electricity from nuclear power for about 30 million people-or all of the electricity used in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida. Second, it means a 50 percent increase in electricity generated by nuclear energy.

Also as part of Vision 2020, the nuclear energy industry will continue to pursue equipment upgrades at nuclear plants and achieve efficiency improvements, both of which will increase electricity production. Altogether, these improvements would add another 10,000 megawatts of nuclear electricity.

Increasing nuclear energy production during the next 20 years is important to maintaining the diversity of the fuel supply in our electricity system. Even more important is the vital role that expanding nuclear energy will play in maintaining the percentage of electricity generation that does not produce any air pollution.

Today, nuclear plants produce about two-thirds of all emission-free electricity in the United States. The other major source - hydropower — is expected to decline. Renewable sources, which contribute only 2.5 percent of all electricity today, are expected to increase only marginally. So we must add the 60,000 megawatts of nuclear generating capacity in our Vision 2020 goal simply to maintain our current level of emission-free electricity production.

Just as the Nuclear Renaissance did not happen by accident, we don't expect Vision 2020 to be realized without similar planning and effort. NEI is coordinating implementation of a detailed business plan that will get that new generation of nuclear plants built.

The effort includes innovative new nuclear plant design and certification - three advanced reactor designs have been approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. And there are exciting new international ventures that may introduce other new designs to the U.S. marketplace.

The other key developments under way are unfolding on the regulatory front, where the industry and regulators are implementing new processes for siting and licensing new nuclear plants. We expect new nuclear plant orders within the next couple of years. And the industry is working to line up the manufacturing and construction capabilities.

Of course, there would be no orders if the economics of nuclear power did not work. But they do. Standardized designs, pre-approval of sites and one-step licensing will bring the capital costs of future plants much more in line with current alternatives. The industry believes that new nuclear capacity can be built at a capital cost below that of coal, and competitive with natural gas, when you factor in the huge cost advantage of nuclear fuel over gas.

That cost advantage for nuclear fuel is likely to loom even larger in the future. Nuclear fuel is expected to be stable in price as far out as we can project, while natural gas is a depleting resource that is subject to availability limitations in supply, storage and transportation capability. As problems in California illustrated last year, excessive dependence on gas-fired capacity can be costly, indeed, when gas supplies tighten.

Staffing those additional plants will be a huge job, and NEI is also coordinated a concentrated industry effort to attract bright young people to the highly skilled, well-paying jobs in the nuclear industry. Nobody in the industry is more active in recruitment than George Hairston. He tirelessly visits college campuses talking about the advantages of a nuclear career. His efforts bode well for Southern Nuclear's future performance.

And that future performance will be of tremendous significance for the economic — and environmental — future of Alabama, and the rest of the country.

We're very proud of nuclear energy's contribution to America, and of our proven record of safety, efficiency and low-cost production. We pledge to you that we will work just as hard to match or exceed that record in the years to come.