Bush: US needs more nuclear power

Jun 21, 2007, 23:22 GMT

Washington - The United States should start building new nuclear power plants by the end of the decade to help cut oil imports and greenhouse gas emissions, President George W Bush said Thursday.

Bush visited a newly restarted civilian reactor at the Browns Ferry plant in the southern state of Alabama to make his case that nuclear power is reliable and clean.

'We need nuclear power to play a greater role in our future,' he said.

Nearly 20 per cent of US electricity is nuclear-generated. As US energy needs grow, experts believe an average of three new plants a year are needed after 2014 to keep that share, the White House said.

'I remind those who share my concern about greenhouse gases that nuclear energy produces no greenhouse gases,' Bush said. 'If you are interested in cleaning up the air, then you ought to be an advocate for nuclear power.'

Bush contrasted the US share of nuclear power to France, which gets about three-quarters of its electricity from nuclear plants, and the European Union's overall 30-per-cent nuclear share.

US utilities have not ordered a new nuclear plant since the 1970s, a hiatus Bush blamed in part on 'constant litigation and overly complex regulations.'

The last new US civilian nuclear reactor went on line in February 1996.

The US 'ought to ... be able to start construction on additional nuclear plants by the end of this decade,' Bush said.

Browns Ferry Unit 1 restarted on May 22 after a 1.8-billion-dollar restoration, ending a 22-year shutdown. First started up in 1973, the reactor went off line in 1985 after a series of problems, including a fire started by a worker who used a candle to check for air leaks.

Since restarting, the 1.2-megawatt reactor at Athens, Alabama, has been idled twice for leaks.