Bush speaks on Nuclear Power

This is going to get lost in the immigration hubub, but it’s very important. One of the the most significant things President Bush has done is to bring nuclear power back into discussion, and with a favorable light. See coverage of the speech and video here at NEI.

We are entering a time of great promise. Our economy is creating new jobs. It is also creating new demands for energy. Our electricity demand is projected to increase nearly 50 percent over the next 25 years.

America needs domestic sources of clean, affordable electricity, and that is why I strongly support nuclear power.

America’s 103 nuclear power plants now account for about 20 percent of our nation’s electricity, more than any other source except for coal. And those plants generate safe, reliable power without producing any air pollution or greenhouse gases.

There is a growing consensus that nuclear power is a key part of a clean, secure energy future.

America has not ordered a nuclear power plant in decades. France by contrast has built 58 plants since the 1970s and now gets 78 percent of its electricity from nuclear power.