“We need to start building new nuclear in this country because we're going to start retiring our nuclear plants as early as 2019," The Charlotte Observer newspaper quoted Rogers as saying in a video interview from a conference in California. "Do you think China is going to slow down on any of its 24 reactors (under construction), or India, or Abu Dhabi? No."
Duke has licenses pending for two new reactors at the proposed Lee nuclear plant near Gaffney, S.C. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Duke applied in 2007 for a combined license to build and operate two Westinghouse AP 1000 reactors at the site, and the utility last month asked a state regulator for permission to spend further on the project.
In an interview with the Christian Science Monitor, Energy Secretary Steven Chu also cautioned against a leap to judgement about the future of nuclear power following the earthquake-triggered accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant.
"We still believe that that has to be part of our energy mix…. We do not want to be generating our electricity from one source…. We want to have a diversified source as the renewables pick up … steam, as the price drops and they become cost [competitive] without subsidy,” the newspaper quoted the energy secretary as saying Friday.
Regarding calls to close down plants near poulation centers like New York’s Indian Point plant, Chu said "It is premature to say that these plants have to shut down. New York State, in partnership with the nuclear regulatory agency, is reviewing the issue…. It would be imprudent to say we have 20 percent of our energy [from nuclear] so shut them all down. That's like saying you have a major gas leak somewhere and an explosion kills a lot of people – we don't want to use natural gas anymore."