Joe F. Colvin
President and CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute

"U.S. Energy Policy and the Nuclear Renaissance:
Japan Atomic Industrial Forum Annual Conference

Saitama City, Japan
April 22, 2002

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be back in your beautiful country. We have just completed our annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., commemorating the generous gift of the Japanese government that has so beautified our Nation’s Capitol. I am pleased to see that it is an equally lovely season of the year here.

Two years ago, I was honored to be able to address my Japanese nuclear industry colleagues at your annual conference. Many of you may have been in attendance. I told that audience that the U.S. nuclear industry had achieved unprecedented levels of safety, reliability and operating efficiency during the 1990s. I offered some statistics to support my statements, and I predicted even brighter days ahead.

I am pleased to say that the U.S. nuclear industry has more than justified my optimism. Every performance and safety category I cited two years ago is even more improved…the support for nuclear power in U.S. energy policy is even stronger…and the issues that our critics would like to use to limit the role of nuclear power in America’s energy future – such as the Yucca Mountain used fuel repository -- are closer to resolution.

We are in every sense experiencing a nuclear renaissance in the United States. Nuclear energy is continuing to prove its tremendous value both to our environment and to our economy. Support for nuclear energy among U.S. government officials and the general public remains high, despite the security concerns raised after the September 11 attacks. We have been very successful in our efforts to assure the public that our nuclear facilities are safe, robust and well protected. I will discuss security further in a few minutes.