Dr. Conca reports that building on the Obama Administration recent Nuclear Summit at the White House, the U.S. Senate made an even bigger statement in favor of new nuclear energy. At the Advanced Nuclear Summit in Washington, D.C. last week, hosted by the Third Way, several U.S. Senators attending the meeting announced the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act, S.2461, intended to facilitate the development of advanced nuclear technologies. The next day, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation in a vote of 87 to 4.
The legislation, introduced by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), directs the U.S. DOE to prioritize partnering with private innovators on new reactor technologies and the testing and demonstration of new reactor designs. The measure is cosponsored by Senators Jim Risch (R-ID), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), an unusually bipartisan group for nuclear energy, signaling a shift in views on nuclear in light of climate change and grid reliability. In a show of legislative force rare at a nuclear meeting, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) kicked off the Advanced Nuclear Summit, and Senators Crapo, Whitehouse and Booker closed it out.
The Act now becomes part of the larger energy policy reform bill before the Senate, S.2012 the Energy Policy Modernization Bill, which is the largest energy bill in decades, and one intended to take America into the 21st Century. This vote also reflects the observation that coal is still the fastest-growing energy source in the world. Nuclear energy has an important role to play as we transition to a carbon-free energy future. This amendment will help drive investment, remove bureaucratic barriers, and allow our entrepreneurs and businesses to unleash the promise of advanced nuclear technologies, said Senator Booker (D-NJ).
Original URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/02/01/u-s-senate-wants-to-decrease-co2-by-increasing-nuclear-energy/#79041db5e1ac
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