Senator points to French success with atomic power
– By Linton Levy –
According to Senator Lamar Alexander, the country should build 100 nuclear power plants, to help break its reliance on fossil fuels.
"We say, find more American energy and use less–energy that is as clean as possible, as reliable as possible, and at as low a cost as possible. And one place to start is with 100 more nuclear power plants," he said.
Senator Alexander said while the U.S. gets only 20 percent of its power from nuclear energy, France has shown the way in using nuclear power.
"Thirty years ago, the contrary French became reliant on nuclear power when others would not. Today, nuclear plants provide 80 percent of their electricity. They even sell electricity to Germany, whose politicians built windmills and solar panels, and promised not to build nuclear plants," he added
Alexander said the Obama administration's proposed subsidies for solar, wind and agricultural energy development will not make much difference, since those forms of energy provide less than two percent of America's electricity.
The Tennessee senator also wants more exploration for offshore oil and natural gas, and more conservation and efficiency in electricity use.