Senator Carper (D-DE) Commends NRC for Vogtle COL – Advocates Continued Nuclear Expansion
One of the myths that Atomic Insights is continually working to dispel is the idea that nuclear energy is a partisan issue with one party supporting it and one party fighting it. Not only is that perception untrue, but it is destructive to the nation and to the technology. Nuclear energy developments are not easy, but few things that are worth doing can be done quickly and easily.
I will continue my work with the nuclear industry, the Administration, and my Congressional colleagues on both sides of the aisle to come together to find ways to put this country on the right path toward a stronger clean energy future, including nuclear power
That means that enabling nuclear energy to flourish and provide increasingly massive quantities of safe, reliable, affordable, and emission free energy will require cooperation between both major political parties. It requires rules that make sense and are very slow to change because rapid change when billions are at stake is terribly damaging to the prospects for success.
As evidence that bipartisan support for nuclear exists already – and should be encouraged to grow, I want to share a press release that Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) sent out yesterday on the occasion of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 4-1 vote in favor of issuing a combined license (COL) to Southern Company for Vogtle units 3 & 4.
February 9, 2012
Senator Carper Commends NRC Approval of New Nuclear Reactors Construction
New Reactors will be the first built in United States in over 30 years
WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Nuclear Safety, commended the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) approval of licenses to build and operate two new reactors at the Southern Company Vogtle site near Waynesboro, Ga. These projects are the first new nuclear reactors to be built in United States in over 30 years. His statement follows:
“I commend the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for approving the necessary licenses to build and operate two new reactors at the Southern Company Vogtle site – the first new nuclear reactors to be built in this country in more than three decades. These new reactors will employ cutting-edge technology that requires fewer components than our current nuclear fleet, thereby increasing safety by providing fewer opportunities for things to go wrong during an emergency.
“Nuclear energy has helped curb our reliance on dirty fossil fuels and has helped reduce harmful air pollution that damages health and causes climate change. Currently, our nuclear fleet meets 20 percent of our nation’s power needs with clean energy. However, most of our nuclear power plants are 30 to 40 years old. As our nuclear plants age, we must start thinking about how we will replace our nuclear fleet in the not-so-distant future. A renewed nuclear energy industry in this country means clean energy into the future and opportunities for American economic growth, with the potential to create thousands of short-and long-term good-paying American jobs.
“Over the years, my colleagues and I on the Environment and Public Works Committee have worked with the NRC to ensure that we have a ‘culture of safety’ at every one of our U.S. nuclear energy reactors, and we continue to make sure every precaution is being taken to safeguard the American people from a nuclear incident. As my colleagues and I work with the NRC and the nuclear industry to expand opportunities for nuclear power’s continued growth and success, we will also continue to work to make sure we have a strong ‘culture of safety’ throughout our nuclear facilities. I will continue my work with the nuclear industry, the Administration, and my Congressional colleagues on both sides of the aisle to come together to find ways to put this country on the right path toward a stronger clean energy future, including nuclear power.”
(Emphasis added.)
PS – Senator Carper is a retired US Navy Commander who used to try to find nuclear powered submarines from a P-3 aircraft.
What about the nuclear party, Rod?
Members of the nuclear party seem to be those of us who actually know the most about nuclear technology.
I wasn’t a bit surprised yesterday that the 4 commissioners “who are part of the nuclear party” and have probably a collective 100 or so years of collective nuclear experience voted FOR the COL, while Chairman Jaczko “who is not a part of the nuclear party” and has only about 7 years of nuclear power-related experience working as a Commisioner at the NRC and formerly worked under 2 of the highest-ranking members of the “anti-nuclear party” was the lone dissenting vote.
There is a flipside as well. If nuclear really started to challenge fossil fuel interests, I wonder how much GOP support would evaporate overnight.
It may sound petty but I think a lot of ‘conservative’ support of nuclear is nothing more than the desire to poke a stick in the eye of those durn tree-hugging hippies. It’s the tribal mentality. If ‘environmentalists’ are opposed to nuclear, I must be for it, whether I can tell a nuclear plant from a rat’s behind or not.
For those tweeters among you, Sen. Carper can be reached by @SenatorCarper.
He is particularly important because he is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety (of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works), which oversees the NRC.
I would give him a +7 (out of +10 to -10) on the Atomikrabbit Ranking of ProNuclear Politicians. The only other Dems I would rate that high would be Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee (chairman), and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) of Appropriations Committee.
Unfortunately, Sen. Carper’s pronuclear votes will always be nullified by those of Bernie Sanders (I-VT), on the same committee.
Also on that committee is Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the only politician in Washington deserving a +10 (in my own humble opinion).
I have already thanked Sen. Carper for his support of the Renaissance, and urged him to look into the benefits of “nuclear waste” transformation into energy by means of Gen IV reactors. Once a gap opens in the defense, send in your most powerful fullback to exploit the hole.
@SteveK9 — Unlike the radical environmental lobby-friendly Democrats, the majority of GOPers have some understanding of what reliable energy is composed. It is not composed of wind turbines nor solar panels. They understand that vehicles don’t run on intermittent inputs, but on combustion of reliable liquid fuels. That is why they supported the Keystone XL project – because it makes sense in every respect of the word. As does opening the OCS, ANWR and both coasts and the Gulf to exploration.
Yes, I believe you are sounding “petty” (your word) in your assessment of the “tribal mentality” of a group of people that you find so intellectually inferior to yourself. Why is that? Or do you believe it when POTUS Obama claims that conservatives want to dismantle all environmental regulations so their children and grandchildren drink contaminated water and breathe sulfur-infused air? We care not one whit about their health because money is all we crave?
Honestly, Steve, you make a caricature of yourself with this kind of post and you don’t make the desire to reach common ground any more reachable. Arrogance is among the worst human traits – and both liberals and conservatives can be caught in its snare.
PS – take a poll of Members of Congress and see which side of the aisle has majority support for nuclear power. It won’t be the Dems.