Fertel releases statement before White House Summit on Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Marvin Fertel issued a statement prior to the White House Summit on Nuclear Energy on Thursday.

Fertel said approximately 33 percent of electricity is produced through sources that do not emit carbon materials into the atmosphere. In the U.S., the largest non-carbon emitting source is nuclear energy.

"The Nuclear Energy Institute and our member companies throughout the industry greatly appreciate the administration's decision to hold this summit as it moves toward implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan and embarks upon the next round of emissions reduction negotiations during the international climate change talks in Paris in a few weeks,” Fertel said.

Globally, Fertel says there are approximately 200 reactors that are being constructed or are in the planning or licensing stages. Despite this, in the U.S. four reactors have either been shut down prematurely or will be within the next few years. Most recently, Entergy Corp. announced that a nuclear power plant near Oswego, New York, would be shut down by 2017 due to economic challenges.

The White House Summit served as a forum to discuss economic issues, the benefits of nuclear energy and the challenges that it faces in the U.S.