Vice President for Policy Development and Planning of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), Richard Myers, issued a response to the release of the Quadrennial Energy Review from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday.
While the report devotes a significant portion toward transportation and transmission infrastructure, Myers states that equally significant challenges exist in electricity generation.
"Given the need for reliable and low-carbon, large-scale electricity sources, there is no question that America needs to increase its use of nuclear energy as we move deeper into the 21st century," Myers said. "Consider these facts: the electricity sector is losing one of its major strengths, fuel and technology diversity; our nation is becoming overly dependent on natural gas for production of electricity; and significant changes in the electricity landscape are coming as many of today's power plants reach retirement age. These circumstances do not bode well for our nation's energy future absent a coordinated effort to retain the full portfolio of energy options."
Myers also stressed the importance of maintaining the infrastructure of nuclear energy and the facilitation of current and future nuclear reactors. According to NEI and others, nuclear energy provides a solution to providing affordable energy with low-carbon emissions. The NEI has also identified areas for which the DOE would need to address in order to maintain nuclear infrastructure.
NEI represents the nuclear energy industry to policy makers in Congress, governmental agencies and the executive branch.
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