Nuclear
103 commercial nuclear plants in the U.S. currently generate about 20% of the country’s electricity. Nuclear power contributes nearly 70 percent of non-carbon U.S. electricity generation. However, no new nuclear plants have been built in the U.S. since 1978.
In a carbon constrained environment, nuclear power will be an increasingly important part of the energy mix of the Southeastern states in order to provide base load capacity and an affordable supply of electricity to power our homes, our businesses and our farms.
The Southeastern Energy Alliances makes the following recommendations to promote expanded use of carbon-free nuclear power:
- Carry out federal commitments to establish a national repository for nuclear waste;
- Implement the recommendation by the National Commission on Energy (NCEP) to Policy to provide $2 billion over ten years from federal energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment budgets for demonstration of one to two new advanced nuclear facilities; and
- Provide tax incentives for construction of new nuclear plants and nuclear electricity generation.