Westinghouse CEO emphasizes nuclear energy's crucial role in climate change mitigation

Westinghouse Electric Co. President and CEO Danny Roderick spoke at the White House Summit on Nuclear Energy that took place on Nov. 6 about the role that it plays in climate change mitigation.

“As a nation, we must acknowledge that aging coal plants soon will go offline, and aging nuclear plants will retire,” Roderick said. “Every nuclear plant that closes equates to throwing away three percent of the clean air generated in this country. That should embarrass all of us.”

Roderick states that nuclear energy provides baseload energy that is clean and reliable and that the U.S. should be supporting this sector within the energy industry.

Recently, Entergy Corp. announced that their James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant will close due to unfavorable economic climates.

In a fact sheet released by the White House, they state that approximately 60 percent of carbon-free electricity was generated in the U.S. through nuclear means. It also reports that the budget for FY 2016 developed by President Barack Obama consists of approximately $900 million to the Department of Energy (DOE) in order to support civilian nuclear operations through research, development and outreach activity.

The White House release also details the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program in order to provide technical, financial and regulatory support.