Weekly Political Roundup — The Week’s Other Noteworthy Speech
Posted February 19, 2010 at 10:37 am 
Filed in: In the second most interesting speech of the week (sorry, couldn’t resist), NRG president and CEO David Crane said “nuclear loan guarantees like the one the administration conditionally awarded Southern Company this week won’t by themselves revive the industry, according to the CEO of one power producer competing for future loan guarantees.” Crane urged the industry to lobby in favor of electric vehicles, according to The Hill’s Jim Snyder.
Interestingly and wisely, Crane also made the case that, for broader political support, the nuclear industry should position itself as a viable solution to America’s overreliance on foreign oil. The Hill continued:
“[Crane] said financial backing from the government, designed to ease investor fears about the sector, will provide a ‘nuclear breakthrough.’ That is, the guarantees will likely lead to the construction of one or two new plants.
“The full-scale renaissance of the type President Barack Obama talks about, however, requires much more federal support, Crane said. That includes for programs and technologies that aren’t solely related to the nuclear sector.”
“The perception of the industry began to shift after it began advertising itself a partial cure to global warming. The fact that nuclear power plants don’t emit carbon dioxide when operating has muted criticism even from environmental groups, Crane said.”
“Crane began his speech with a number: $388 billion. That’s the amount the U.S. paid to import oil last year. Nuclear power doesn’t produce transportation fuel, but it would if more electric cars were on the road.
“‘You can’t find a senator or a congressman who has not driven an electric car,’ Crane told reporters after his speech. ‘But they still think of it as a niche product.’
“Crane believes the technology is ready for broad use and that the nuclear power industry needs to push electric vehicles to compete with natural gas producers that say vehicles powered by domestically produced compressed natural gas is the way to reduce oil imports.”
Crane is a key member of the Electrification Coalition, a newly formed group of top business executives dedicated to facilitating the mass deployment of electric vehicles, in an effort to combat the economic, environmental, and security problems caused by U.S. oil dependence.
For the full story from The Hill: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/81881-electric-vehicles-may-key-to-nuclears-revival-ceo-says
Previous Post
January 26, 2012
January 26, 2012
January 24, 2012
