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Skriven 2007-06-21 23:30:44 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (070621) for Thu, 2007 Jun 21
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Fact Sheet: Expanding the Safe Use of Nuclear Power
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 21, 2007

Fact Sheet: Expanding the Safe Use of Nuclear Power President Bush
Discusses Nuclear Power, Calls On Congress To Pass An Energy Bill

ÿÿWhite House News

ÿÿÿÿÿ In Focus: Energy

Today, President Bush Toured Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant In Alabama
And Discussed His Administration's Energy Policy, Including The Importance
Of Expanding Nuclear Power. Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 is the
first U.S. nuclear reactor to come online in the 21st century. Shut down in
1985 due to management and operational concerns, the Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA) decided in 2002 to restart the unit and has done so on time
and on budget. This unit has the capacity to supply electricity to about
650,000 homes.

  þ Nuclear Power Is Part Of The Administration's Energy Strategy, Which
    Includes Pursuing Alternatives To Oil And Taking Advantage Of New
    Technologies. In 1985, about 27 percent of our oil came from abroad;
    today, about 60 percent of our oil comes from abroad. U.S. dependence
    on oil creates national security, economic, and environmental risks, so
    the President has set a "Twenty in Ten" goal of cutting U.S.
    consumption of gasoline by 20 percent over the next 10 years.

  þ President Bush Commends Congress For Considering Legislation To Help
    Bring America Closer To Meeting His "Twenty In Ten" Goal, And
    Challenges Them To Take A Bolder Approach To Strengthen America's
    Energy Security. Reaching the President's goal will require:

  þ Setting An Alternative Fuels Standard: The President's proposal will
    require the equivalent of 35 billion gallons of renewable and other
    alternative fuels by 2017 - a standard that is nearly five times the
    current 2012 target and more aggressive than that required by the
    Senate energy bill.

  þ Reforming And Modernizing CAFE Standards: The Administration has twice
    increased CAFE standards for light trucks using an attribute-based
    method, which reduces the risk that vehicle safety is compromised and
    helps preserve consumer choice. The Administration seeks the same
    reform for passenger vehicles. The increased vehicle fuel economy
    standard proposed by the President could save up to 8.5 billion gallons
    of gasoline per year by 2017.

  þ Doubling The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Capacity: The President has
    proposed doubling the size of the SPR to further protect against severe
    disruptions to the world's oil supply that threaten our national and
    economic security.

  þ The President Has Also Proposed Steps To Increase Domestic Oil
    Production. The President's proposal would take immediate steps to
    increase supply and better protect America from fluctuations in oil and
    natural gas prices by approving drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf
    and ANWR and continuing onshore access improvements. In contrast, the
    Senate energy bill would do nothing to increase domestic supplies of
    oil and natural gas for American homes and businesses.

The World Is Seeing The Promise And Potential Of The Peaceful Use Of
Nuclear Energy

Today, Nuclear Power Provides Almost Twenty Percent Of The United States'
Electricity. In addition, nuclear power provides 78 percent of the
electricity for France, 50 percent of the electricity for Sweden, and 30
percent of the electricity for the entire European Union. China has nine
nuclear plants in operation, and plans to build many more.

  þ Nuclear Power Is Clean Domestic Energy. Nuclear energy produces no air
    pollution or greenhouse gases. Without its use, carbon dioxide
    emissions would have been 28 percent greater in the electricity
    industry in 2005 - an increase nearly equal to the annual emissions
    from all 136 million passenger cars in the U.S.

  þ Nuclear Power Is Safe. The nuclear sector is one of the safest
    industries in the United States, and advances in science, engineering,
    and plant design have made nuclear plants even safer than the last
    generation of plants. Plant workers and managers focus on safety and
    security above all else, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors
    stationed full-time at plants provide daily inspections to ensure
    safety and security requirements are being met.

  þ Nuclear Power Is Affordable And Reliable. Once a nuclear plant is
    constructed, fuel and operating costs are among the cheapest forms of
    energy available. In addition, the cost of electricity from a nuclear
    power plant is stable and reliable - the cost does not fluctuate like
    natural gas, and the flow of power is not intermittent like wind.

The Federal Government Is Helping To Expand The Safe Use Of Nuclear Power

Nuclear Power Is The Only Significant Emissions-Free Baseload Power Source
That Is Able To Expand To Meet America's Growing Need For Electricity. To
maintain nuclear power's current twenty-percent share of electricity
generation in the U.S., experts believe it will be necessary to build an
average of three new plants per year, starting in 2015. Partially as a
result of litigation and complex regulations, however, no new nuclear
plants have been ordered in the U.S. since the 1970s.

1. In 2003, The Administration Launched The Nuclear Power 2010 Initiative.
This partnership between the U.S. government and industry is focused on
reducing the technical, regulatory, and institutional barriers to
deployment of new nuclear power plants. The President's 2008 budget will
double the requested funding for this program to $114 million to help
private industry obtain licenses for new designs.

  þ By The End Of This Decade, America Should Be Able To Start Construction
    On Several New Nuclear Plants. To date, 20 companies and consortia have
    announced their intent to file license applications over the next two
    years with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for as many as 30 new
    reactors.

2. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Is Working To Improve And
Streamline The Regulatory Process To Help Accelerate The Construction Of
Nuclear Plants. Under the old system, the permitting process was slow and
cumbersome because it limited builders to completing only one step at a
time before moving on. The NRC is now implementing a more efficient review
process that allows builders to complete several steps at a time without
compromising safety.

3. The Energy Bill The President Signed In 2005 Provides Production Tax
Credits And Federal Risk Insurance For Builders Of New Nuclear Plants.
Production tax credits will reward investments in the latest in advanced
nuclear power generation, and Federal risk insurance helps protect the
first builders of new nuclear plants against frivolous lawsuits,
bureaucratic obstacles, and other delays beyond their control.

4. The Administration Has Repeatedly Proposed Legislation To Complete A
Nuclear Waste Repository Site At Yucca Mountain. Yucca Mountain is critical
to expanding nuclear power in the United States because it will provide a
safe geologic repository to store spent fuel and nuclear waste. The
President's 2008 budget request devotes nearly $495 million to continue
progress on licensing Yucca Mountain as a repository for spent fuel, and he
urges Congress to pass this important legislation to move our efforts
forward.

5. Under The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, America Will Work With
Nations That Have Advanced Civilian Nuclear Energy Programs - Such As
France, China, Japan, And Russia. The partnership will work to provide the
cheap and safe energy growing economies need, while reducing the risk of
nuclear proliferation and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions.

  þ This Partnership Will Use New Technologies That Effectively And Safely
    Recycle Spent Nuclear Fuel. Recycling spent uranium fuel for use in
    advanced reactors will allow us to extract more energy and has the
    potential to reduce repository requirements for nuclear waste by up to
    90 percent.

  þ It Will Also Help Developing Countries Meet Their Growing Energy Needs
    By Providing Them With Small-Scale Reactors That Will Be Secure And
    Cost-Effective. In exchange, these countries would agree to use nuclear
    power only for civilian purposes and to forego sensitive nuclear fuel
    cycle activities that can be used to develop nuclear weapons.

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