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Special Committee Informs States on Nuclear Energy

The American Nuclear Society (ANS) has established a Special Committee on Nuclear in the States, focused on providing information to state policymakers on the benefits of new nuclear energy facilities planning and retention of existing facilities.

The impetus for the Committee’s work was the release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan, which directs the states to create their own energy plans to meet target emission goals. “We want to give the states every opportunity to realize the benefits of nuclear power and help them understand what tools they have, and how nuclear can be part of the solution,” said ANS President Eugene S. Grecheck.

The special committee is being led by Dr. Peter B. Lyons, former Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary, and Donald R. Hoffman, President and CEO of Excel Services Corporation. They are leading a team of ANS members to develop a kit of potential energy options to show states how to effectively include nuclear energy in their Clean Power Plan compliance plans. The kit is expected to be released in February 2016.

“There are a variety of approaches the states can use with nuclear energy, and the tool kit is meant to be a starting point for decision-makers,” noted Hoffman. “These tools are meant to be used both when determining a path forward for current nuclear power plants, as well as new builds. We have contacted governors in several states, and intend to reach out to the administrations in all states.”

Additionally, the ANS report will include an analysis of the current state of nuclear energy across the United States, an overview of the impact nuclear plant closures and limited new builds would have on energy markets as well as the state of electricity generation in the U.S. as a whole. The goal is to provide analysis for decision-makers when considering the effects of clean power in their region, including nuclear power.

Currently, the nation’s nuclear reactor fleet produces 19 percent of the country's electricity as a whole, and even more in certain regions. More importantly,nuclear energy generates 63 percent of our low-carbon electricity.

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