As we turn our attention to global warming and the need to control green house gas emissions, nuclear power can play an important role.

The United States currently has over 100 nuclear plants that produce about 20 percent of American power supply, but there have been no new American nuclear plants built in the last three decades. 

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes federal loan guarantees for nuclear reactors and other technologies that avoid greenhouse gases.  The Act also contained several nuclear-specific provisions such as tax incentives to help construct nuclear power plants and invest in their long-term support needs.  This is a necessary first step toward building new nuclear plants to accommodate the growing need for clean energy.

At the same time, we must find a way to store nuclear waste.  Yucca Mountain, Nevada, had been selected as our nation’s nuclear waste site, but concerns have put that project on hold. 

As chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I am looking for ways to move ahead.  I helped write the American Clean Energy Leadership Act – legislation that includes a provision authorizing a national commission to study five alternative means of safely managing and disposing of spent nuclear fuel:

• The efficacy of deep geologic disposal;
• Long-term storage at sites where waste is currently stored or generated;
• Long-term storage at one or more other regional storage facilities;
• Efficacy of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel; and,
• Alternative management and disposal options.

The commission’s findings will help us develop better strategies for spent fuel disposal.

It’s my hope that the Senate will approve the American Clean Energy Leadership Act in the coming months. 

Nuclear power production is – and will remain – an important part of our energy mix.