Harry Reid says that he supports new nuclear power plants – but is not budging on Yucca Mountain
According to a recent UPI interview titled Analysis: Reid to change U.S. energy plan, Harry Reid, the senior senator from Nevada who will soon be the Senate Majority Leader, has a strong desire to reduce American oil consumption. He is particularly concerned about the implications of importing more than 65% of the 21 million barrels of oil per day used by Americans.
Though the list of preferred alternative energy sources that he provides to his interviewer at the beginning of the article does not include nuclear power, later in the article there is a key statement:
Reid says he’d also be open to new nuclear power in the United States. But he’s at odds with the industry over what to do with the nuclear waste. Reid wants it kept safe at the nuclear plants as opposed to a proposed repository inside Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
I happen to agree with Harry and have said so on numerous occasions both publicly and privately. Here are a few of my previous comments on the matter (in reverse chronological order):
