Millions of Homes will be Powered by New, Clean Energy Because of EPAct 05
Bill ushers in nuclear renaissance in United States
July 26, 2006
01:07 PM
Washington, D.C. – Utilities have announced plans to build as many as 25 advanced nuclear power plants in the United States because of the incentives included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The early plants could be online as early as 2014. If all proposed plants are built, they would power 15 million homes without any airborne emissions, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici said today at a 10 a.m. press conference in U.S. Capitol to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the congressional passage of EPAct 05.
Chairman Domenici’s statement:
“A year after its passage, I consider the Energy Policy Act of 2005 one of the greatest accomplishments of the 109th Congress. Because of this bill, we have made dramatic strides in producing more energy, conserving more energy and diversifying our sources of energy. Because of this bill, our energy is cleaner than it has ever been before.
“I am particularly pleased that through this bill we have brought this nation to the dawn of a nuclear energy renaissance. A renaissance like this has been a long-standing dream of mine. In the past year, utilities announced plans to build as many as 25 new nuclear power plants in the next 20 years. That’s an amazing development for a country that went 30 years without licensing a new nuclear power plant design.
“This bill has also had a remarkable impact on rural America. Over the next six years alone, ethanol use will displace 2 billion barrels of foreign oil, create 234,840 new jobs, and boost American household incomes by $43 billion.
“The fruits of the energy bill are abundant but they are still new. In a few years, I anticipate even more dramatic results as the technology and energies we are developing today move into the marketplace. I am proud of our work and congratulate colleagues in both houses and on both sides of the aisle for this accomplishment.”
