Consumer Energy Alliance Welcomes Recommendations on Nuclear Fuel Management
Houston, TX – Today, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) welcomed the findings of the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future and applauded the Commission’s sound recommendations for advancing strategic used-fuel management. The Commission, charged with developing a new strategy for nuclear spent fuel management, delivered the results of its two-year investigation to Energy Secretary Dr. Chu today.
Principally, the Commission has identified initiatives that would allow for a sustainable, safe, and secure method to transport and store spent fuel in a few interim storage facilities, allowing around 75 current and decommissioned nuclear facilities across the United States to remove the waste from on-site storage. The recommendations specifically call for the establishment of one or more consolidated interim storage facilities, the creation of a congressionally chartered organization dedicated to waste management, and the amendment of current law to allow this organization to use revenues from the existing Nuclear Waste Fund.
In response to the report, CEA president David Holt praised the recommendations offering the following statements:
“By transporting spent fuel to a willing interim storage site(s), utilities and their consumers would have a waste management option that could be available in less than ten years. Any other solution is likely decades away from realization. Since 1983, ratepayers have annually paid $750 million into the mandated Nuclear Waste Fund without any solution. The Commission rightfully acknowledges that these funds must be used in a way that safeguards consumer payments and ensures that electricity consumers will not bare these expenses in vain. Moreover, interim storage will permit decommissioned plants the ability to transfer fuel and finally complete their cleanup, an objective many states can easily rally around.”
“Congress and the Administration must move quickly to adopt these recommendations and move forward with interim storage now. Nuclear energy must remain a vital part of a balanced, thoughtful energy portfolio. We strongly believe this report contains rational, solution-driven policies that can and must be met with bipartisan support, and we look forward to urging our Congressional leaders to adopt these recommendations as expeditiously as possible.”
Consumer Energy Alliance announced it will soon launch efforts in support of the Commission’s recommendations and a stronger future for nuclear energy in the United States.
