Washington, D.C. – Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici praised the creation of a consortium of energy companies formed to explore the licensing of a new nuclear energy plant in the United States. A consortium of five power companies and two nuclear power reactor vendors today announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding detailing the formation of a consortium to investigate the design, certification and licensing of advanced nuclear power reactors. All nuclear power plants in the United States are built from designs approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the 1970s. The commission has, in recent years, approved designs for two advanced light water nuclear reactors, but none have been constructed in the United States. Chairman Domenici’s statement: “I believe nuclear energy in this country is on the verge of a renaissance. We’ve known for years that nuclear energy is clean, affordable and reliable. But now, nuclear power is so much cheaper than natural gas that the steep cost of licensing a new reactor is suddenly doable. “We have seen natural gas prices climb steadily over 3 ½ years. Now, electricity from natural gas costs nearly four times more than electricity from nuclear power. Nuclear power costs 1.68 cents a kilowatt hour. Natural gas now costs 6.08 cents. “Other developed nations in the world have recognized the advantage of nuclear power. Finland, Taiwan, China and Japan have or are building nuclear power plants more modern than anything we have here in the United States. Ontario announced last week that it will close its coal plants in the next five years, replacing that power with new nuclear power. I’m delighted that the United States is entering a new age of clean, reliable and affordable nuclear energy.” ###