Jeff Bingaman: “Clearly, I am not opposed to the building of new nuclear powerplants. I believe nuclear power makes a very major…”

“Clearly, I am not opposed to the building of new nuclear powerplants. I believe nuclear power makes a very major contribution to our energy needs. It supplies about 20 percent of our Nation's electricity today. It does so safely. It does so reliably. It does not generate greenhouse gases. And it does so at prices that are competitive with coal and natural gas. I hope in the future we will see additional nuclear power production in this country and worldwide. I think it is a technology that provides many benefits to us. There are provisions in the bill that are strongly in support of the nuclear power industry and its future: The renewal of the Price-Anderson Act, for example, that protects the nuclear industry against liability from accidents. There are provisions in there to carry out research and development to help with the training of a workforce. There are many provisions in this bill that are very strongly in support of the nuclear power industry. The provision this amendment goes to would authorize the Secretary of Energy to guarantee up to half the cost of 8,400 megawatts of nuclear capacity. That translates into at least six large nuclear powerplants.”