Good afternoon. I'd like to spend the next few minutes talking about something that is necessary for us to live, to work, to play, to move us from place to place, to maintain a standard of health and living unparalleled in human history. My company is one of the top five companies in the U.S. that produces it. Electricity.

America and the Southeast have a proud history of ensuring that we have a reliable supply of electricity, which has allowed our nation and our region to become the envy of the world. Southern Company is proud to have been a part of that history. But I'm here today not to talk about the past but rather the future. The challenges of providing and meeting the energy needs that you and I have come to expect are daunting.

We face a long-term energy crisis in America, and we can no longer hope that short-term fixes will make the problem go away. Demand for energy in the U.S. is already outpacing supply. We’re much too dependent on foreign oil. We’re concerned about the potential impact of climate change. And as our 21st-century, high-tech economy expands and our population grows, the demand for energy will be even greater.

The facts are that over the next 15 years, it’s projected that in the Southeast, one of the fastest-growing regions in the U.S., electricity demand will rise more than 30 percent. By the year 2030, says the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 40 percent of the nation’s population will live in the South. Georgia alone will add another 4 million people. And all will want—and expect—reliable, affordable electricity.

Our nation not only wants it when they need it, we want it at a cost we can afford and we also want it cleaner. At Southern Company, we’ve already invested nearly $2 billion to lower our emissions. We are about to embark on one of the largest and most expensive pollution control programs ever undertaken by a U.S. utility—we’ll spend $6 billion over the next 10 years to drive our emissions down even further.

At Southern Company, we’re working hard to help America implement practical, common-sense solutions to the challenge of providing more electricity while reducing our environmental impact. One aspect of that is balance.

Today, in the U.S., coal produces about 54 percent of the nation’s electricity (and 65 percent of our power here in the Southeast), nuclear power, nationally, accounts for about 22 percent, natural gas about 12 percent—the rest coming from hydroelectric, oil and some renewable sources. And as we look to the future, here’s what we know.

There is a 250-year supply of coal in the U.S. … compared with about 50 years of a known supply of natural gas. Coal is here. It is not in a foreign land. As compared to the fact that more than 95 percent of the world’s known natural gas reserves lay outside the U.S. We must continue to use coal—although we must use it more efficiently and more cleanly. We have to develop and install new technologies to minimize the environmental impacts of its use.

In the 1990s, the use of natural gas-fired to generate electricity rose at three times the rate of coal. For the last 15 years, Southern Company has added only gas-fired generation. Gas is an abundant domestic energy source, but it has important uses other than just electricity generation—such as in manufacturing, chemical plants and commercial and residential use. Demand for gas has increased dramatically, and so has its price. There are pressures to reduce the use of gas for power generation even though it is the fuel of choice for new capacity. Clearly, we will need more gas in the U.S., and efforts should be made to increase domestic production both on- and off-shore, while improving our ability to import supplies.

Nuclear power stands ready for a revival in this country. As I mentioned earlier, nuclear provides just over 20 percent of our electricity in the U.S. today. New nuclear technologies will allow an expansion of this energy source in a clean, safe and economical manner. Generating electricity using nuclear power produces little or no emissions* to the air, and the spent fuel issue is more of a political than a technical challenge.

* Note: Throughout the nuclear fuel cycle, the small volume of waste by-products actually created is carefully contained, packaged, and safely stored. The nuclear energy industry is the only industry established since the industrial revolution that has managed and accounted for all of its waste, preventing adverse impacts to the environment.

I know many of you believe we should rely on renewable energy. Today, renewable sources make up about 9 percent of our nation’s electricity generation. And this includes hydro. If you take out hydro, renewable sources like wind and solar only provide about 2 percent of our nation’s energy needs. Future expansion is currently limited by supply, reliability and the much higher cost of renewable options. Still, renewables must and will be a part of the mix. And we are working in that area, too.

Just a few weeks ago, Dr. Wayne Clough, president of Georgia Tech, and I announced a new partnership to explore the possibility of building wind turbines off the coast of Georgia. We’ve pledged a half a million dollars so that our scientists and those at Georgia Tech can put technology to work. This project, if completed, could provide the equivalent of powering up to 2,500 homes. And, while that total is small, it might lead to a broader application for this technology.  

So knowing what we know, what are we doing? We believe technology is the answer to address energy policy and energy demand. And we are doing more than just talking about.

For one, we’re continuing to invest in research and development to address and solve not only the energy needs of our region but also the environmental challenges, using state-of-the-art technology and cutting-edge intellectual thought. With some of the best scientists, engineers and technicians in the world, we are working to develop a 21st-century energy program that leads our company and our nation toward energy self-sufficiency.

We are developing technologies that turn coal into electricity both cleanly and safely. The U.S. Department of Energy has recognized our work by awarding us a $200 million grant to build a unique power plant that will be among the cleanest and most efficient in the world, while producing 20–25 percent less carbon dioxide than conventional coal-based plants. I want to emphasize that we’re building the plant now—not just thinking about it. It should be operational by 2011.

We are a founding member of the NuStart Consortium, a partnership of nuclear utilities seeking to make sure the next generation of nuclear power is an option in meeting growing U.S. energy demand. Nuclear power emits no greenhouse gases. We’ve also sent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission our intent to file an early site permit so as to move the process along, should we decide to build a new nuclear unit.

We’re also expanding our research into biomass for power generation by testing a process to gasify biomass, such as switchgrass, that can be grown in our territory. This has the potential to be cost-competitive when compared with other forms of renewable energy.

At Southern Company, we’re well aware of our responsibility to not only meet the future energy needs of our region but also protect and even improve the environment. We are, after all, as the first president of Georgia Power said, “a citizen wherever we serve,” and we know that includes reducing the environmental impact of our operations.

I mentioned we’ve earlier invested $2 billion so far in environmental controls that have lowered our emissions of two major pollutants—sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides—nearly 40 percent since 1990. During that same 15-year period, we’ve increased generation 30 percent to meet demand. Think about that. Demand for electricity has gone up 30 percent in the past 15 years and emissions have gone down 40 percent. We’re investing $6 billion over the next decade, three times as much as we’ve spent to date, to further lower those emissions and mercury emissions by 70 percent from today’s levels. By the way, nearly half that future investment will be in Georgia.

Now some will say that we are doing only what the law requires. Well, it is certainly true that we do what the law requires! But we haven’t waited for the government to tell us what to do. We’ve taken the initiative over the years to develop new technologies to provide reliable and economical power while reducing our emissions substantially.

For example, we’ve managed more than $400 million in environmental research and development over the past decade, including our work at the Power Systems Development Facility in Alabama—the nation’s only advanced coal research center.

We’re investing $5 million in developing the nation’s first mercury research test center, which will evaluate the latest technologies for reducing mercury emissions from power plants.

We’re part of a $1 billion, 10-year DOE project known as FutureGen to develop an advanced coal plant with carbon capture and sequestration—basically, a plant with no emissions.

And, contrary to what some may say, we also are playing a leadership role in addressing the complex and controversial issue of climate change. We have been participating in the scientific, technical and policy parts of the issue for more than a decade. A lot of debate continues as to how to address climate change, and it is unclear what types of policies will ultimately be adopted here in the U.S.

Some are pushing for carbon caps or taxes, which we do not support. While we’re engaged in the policy debate, we are also taking action. We are a leader in developing the technologies that will allow us to address climate change—some of those initiatives I’ve touched on already.

We’re also a founding member of the Department of Energy’s Climate Challenge Program, participating in a diverse portfolio of voluntary actions to address carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. We’ve planted more than 35 million trees in the Southeast to sequester CO2. We’ve launched a three-year program in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to restore the longleaf pine ecosystem in the Southeast and sequester carbon, among other environmental benefits.

We’re participating in Climate VISION with a pledge to work toward a goal of reducing the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions rate 3–5 percent over the next decade. And we’re funding a project to perform site selection and process identification for CO2 capture and storage test centers at four of our facilities.

In closing, Southern Company will play an active role, not just in solving energy needs right here in this region, but nationally. We must develop a smart, sensible energy policy, driven by technology that assures electricity is affordable and reliable for everyone.

We are investing in people and in technology. We are finding ways to burn coal more cleanly—to advance the next generation of nuclear plants and to invest in the potential of renewable energy sources, like wind and biomass.

We look forward to working with state and federal agencies, with outstanding institutions like Georgia Tech and with community leaders like you. We are also committed to working with those who have differing opinions about some of these issues. We will actively engage with those who don’t agree with us on the issues or the solutions—because we understand the complexity of these issues and the consequences of not exploring all options. We must work hard to achieve balance and common sense in the energy policy debate.

In the end, we have the responsibility to keep the lights on, and we take it seriously. The choices we are making today will ensure future generations can enjoy the extraordinary standard of living we have in the South.

Thank you.