Secretary's Speech

Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez
Remarks to the Nuclear Energy Summit
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, D.C.

Thank you for the kind words. And I want to thank all of you for being here at our Nuclear Energy Summit. I believe this group can be a catalyst for enhancing nuclear energy’s role in America’s future.

Before I talk about energy, let me say a few words about what’s been going on with our economy.

I’ve just come from an economic policy meeting at the White House. Our economy is experiencing major shocks. We know it will take some time and effort to work through this difficult period. The Administration acted boldly. And we’re pleased Congress passed the emergency bipartisan rescue package. It’s a significant step toward economic stability.

Energy, of course, is a strategic piece of the economic picture. It’s clear that our nation is facing serious energy challenges. The positive aspect for the nuclear energy industry is that this has highlighted the need for a diverse energy portfolio, which includes nuclear power.

From day one, President Bush has been committed to an energy policy that addresses our nation’s short-term and long-term needs.

The President’s basic answer to our energy challenges has been “do everything:”

• Increase domestic supplies of oil and gas, and we were pleased that the Congressional ban on offshore drilling expired last week;
• Reduce consumption with more efficient cars;
• Accelerate research on new technologies; and
• Expand renewable power tax credits to cover nuclear energy.

Over the past three years, we’ve experienced the beginning of a global nuclear renaissance.

America gets roughly 20 percent of our electricity from nuclear power. That’s an amount comparable to the electricity used in our three most populous states: California, Texas and New York.

However, France, the world’s leader in nuclear power, gets about 80 percent from nuclear energy. And they are continuing to develop and expand their capacity.

It’s time for the United States to get focused on nuclear power—one of the cleanest and most reliable producers of electricity.

Energy consumption is soaring globally. It is projected to increase by 50 percent between 2005 and 2030. Nuclear power can help us meet our growing energy demand.

As you know, the last time a construction permit was approved for a currently operating nuclear reactor in the U.S. was in 1978, and the last time a new nuclear reactor went into operation was in 1996.

However, today we have a new regulatory process and have taken other steps to expedite the process and create the environment to encourage investment. There are now applications for 25 new reactors at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Building new nuclear power plants will boost our economy and our competitiveness. This high-tech industry spurs innovation. It has large trade and investment potential. It can assure the retention of high-skilled manufacturing capacity. And, importantly, it can create or sustain hundreds of thousands of good-paying American jobs.

Last month, the American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness issued a report. It projected that fossil fuel imports could be reduced by as much as nine billion dollars per year (in today’s dollars) if we were just able to keep the proportion of nuclear capacity the same in 2030 as we have today.

At the same time, the report notes, the burning of fossil fuels now accounts for around 70 percent of electricity generation. If nuclear capacity declines, there would be a further strain on limited fossil fuel resources for electricity generation. This would likely mean higher imports of increasingly costly fossil fuels.

Alternatively, nuclear is an essential piece of the energy pie. Even if we double hydro and other renewables, we are still going to need nuclear.

The Council also forecast that up to 350,000 new American jobs and 542 billion dollars in cumulative GDP could be created over a 20-year period with substantial development of new nuclear reactors.

Tens of thousands of these new jobs will be in the nuclear fuel enrichment and recycling subsector. This subsector will support U.S. exports of nuclear fuel to our allies, who are also expanding their use of peaceful, civil nuclear energy.

India and China, for example, are huge potential markets for U.S. clean energy technologies. Commerce has led several Clean Energy and Environment Trade Missions to India and China.

Assistant Secretary David Bohigian, who visited India and China last month with 19 U.S. companies, tells me that policymakers in both countries believe nuclear will play an important role in their future supplies of affordable and secure energy.

As we meet, President Bush is in the East Room for the U.S.-India nuclear legislation signing ceremony, which could open billions of dollars in investments in nuclear plants in India over the next 15 years.

Projections indicate that India could eventually be the largest renewable energy market in the world—and that the clean technology market in China will increase to 186 billion dollars in 2010, and 555 billion dollars by 2020.

Exports are a bright spot in our economy. And they will continue to be an increasingly important part of our economic growth.

Last year, the U.S. exports totaled a record 1.6 trillion dollars. And exports accounted for more than 50 percent of the 2.8 percent GDP growth we saw in the second quarter.

The Commerce Department can be a partner in the nuclear renaissance by helping to open international markets for America’s world-class nuclear technologies.

Today, I’m pleased to announce we’ve recently launched a Civil Nuclear Trade Initiative.

• We’re putting together a nuclear industry trade advisory committee.
• We’ve initiated a nuclear energy working group with the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee.
• We joined with the Departments of State and Energy to promote U.S. nuclear technology for the first time at the recent IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) general meeting in Vienna last week; and
• We’re organizing future civil nuclear trade missions.

I want to thank all of those here today who have been working with us on these projects.

Before I close, I want to mention one other issue that came up at an energy innovation panel, which I moderated in Pittsburgh last month.

Aris Candris, president and CEO of Westinghouse, made an important point which I believe is relevant to today’s Summit.

He said that consumers are still anxious about the safety of nuclear, and the industry needs to do more to educate the public. This is not 1979, when the Three-Mile accident occurred.

Innovative technology has been introduced. Progress has been made. And steps have been taken to improve safety.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission works closely with industry to ensure plants are operated in a safe manner to protect personnel, the public and the environment.

NRC-regulated nuclear facilities are considered among the safest and most secure industrial plants in the nation. We need to make sure the public knows this.

I’ll end with this: We invited you here today because we need to get nuclear back in the game. This summit is a new beginning. You need to keep the momentum going.

Nuclear power can play a leading role in building a secure, sustainable energy future for our country and creating jobs and opportunities for our citizens.

We look forward to working with you to make it happen.

Thank you.