Bush on Energy: Bring on the Nukes

Although he was addressing a crowd promoting solar and wind energy, President Bush's message was clear: nuclear power is the best way to secure the nation's energy supply while addressing climate change. The President spoke this morning at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) and mentioned nuclear energy nearly 20 times, saying that "I strongly believe the U.S. must promote nuclear power. There is no better way to produce electricity and promote the enviroment."

The President prefaced the call for nuclear energy expansion by saying "You can't have vibrant economy without reliable electricity. You people in developing nations know what I'm talking about." He called the U.S. oil dependence "a growing problem for our economy," citing data that reliance on oil importants had grown from 20 percent to nearly 60 percent since 1985.

Bush called the new generation of nuclear power plants "safe and clean" because they do not produce greenhouse gas emissions. He said that since his adminstration announced the "Nuclear Power 2010" initiative federal regulators had received 6 applications for new nuclear plants.The power plants will be built, he said, because the federal goverment is providing $18.5 billion in loan guarantees, and his administration is streamlining the regulatory process to encourage investment.

The president called on developing nations to adopt nuclear power, and he said he is working with larger nations that currently rely on nuclear energy such as France, Japan and China to aid those countries on "proliferation resistant nuclear power" that won't harm the environment.

Wind was also called an important technology for meeting America's electricity needs, and Bush said he "met some of the wind boys" at the conference. He cited statistics that the U.S. was installing wind power faster than any other nation, and referred to legislation he pioneered when Governor of Texas that preceded the state becoming the nation's largest wind provider.

Bush did not mention any new initiatves or funding for renewable energy, but touted the $10 billion his administration had committed to renewable energy. While political and industry leaders throughout the conference have stated the U.S. as falling behind Europe on renewables, Bush described the country as the "world leader in renewable energy."

While Bush has been touting ethanol as a transportation biofuel, he instead referred to biodiesel as the "most promising of these fuels."

Tariffs and other trade regulations that prevent renewable energy from crossing borders need to be eliminated, Bush said. "We need to eliminate tariffs to enable clean technologies to move duty free around the world." However, he did mention eliminated tariffs on renewable fuels, such as the ethanol tariff that has prevented Brazilian ethanol from entering the U.S.

Several times during his speech Bush stated that "economies must be strong so that countries can afford these new technologies." He said that he had asked Congress for $2 billion as part of an international fund to give developing nations access to clean technologies.

Bush reaffirmed his commitment to energy security, ending oil dependence and combating climate change. "America's gotta change its habits." Demand is outstripping supply, which has caused the price of corn, hog feed and food to rise, he said. Bush said the administration is focused on research on corn alternatives such as cellulosic ethanol and biomass energy.