Fertel fights for nuclear energy future

Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) President and CEO Marvin Fertel asserted that nuclear energy was key in supporting the increasing demand for electricity at the recent North American Leaders’ Summit in Ottawa, Canada.

“When we look out, we see the electrification of America being the frontier we’re moving into, whether it is in transportation or it’s in industrial processes with robots, or it’s what’s been done to the Savannah port, where you’ve made everything electric driven,” Fertel said. “We’re going to use more electricity down the road. We’re going to have very stringent carbon requirements as time goes by, and we see nuclear energy as absolutely critical to helping our country, our economy and our people. Losing current plants that are really good performers is just absurd.”

Fertel’s statement came on the heels of the announced closure of California’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant. Several other nuclear plants have announced closures within the past few years, including Wisconsin’s Kewaunee and Vermont’s Yankee stations. Fertel warned legislators that eliminating nuclear from the energy portfolio would be a big mistake, as the relatively clean and inexpensive energy source is essential in meeting the nation’s increasing demand for clean electricity.

Fertel also thanked the Canadian prime minister and President Barack Obama for their recognition of how important maintaining the nuclear energy portfolio of the U.S. is to achieve the goal of 50 percent clean energy consumption in North America.