America could benefit from nuclear energy to transform itself. This is not only because of the way it produces energy, but also because it creates new jobs.
America’s 104 nuclear power plants generate three-quarters our carbon-free electricity. These plants are among the brightest spots in the U.S. economic landscape. The nuclear energy industry is growing rather than contracting and provides thousands of green jobs.
Electric power companies have applied for federal permits to construct up to 26 nuclear plants. Manufacturers and reactor designers expand their manufacturing and engineering facilities as well as their payrolls.
In North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, there is already a lot of nuclear job growth. 1,400 workers will be employed by Westinghouse and Shaw Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Northrop Grumman is building a facility in Newport News, Va. to make massive reactor vessels, stream generators, and other equipment. These companies, along with others, have already employed more than 9,000 people and invested over $4 billion to develop new nuclear manufacturing facilities and business operations.
The green job revolution won’t happen by itself. The U.S. electric industry is facing an unprecedented challenge. According to a Brattle Group industry-funded study, the U.S. electricity industry must invest between $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in new power plants and transmission systems in order to meet a 25% increase in electricity demand by 2030.
Financing is required for the nuclear energy industry to create more jobs. The 2005 Energy Policy Act approved a clean energy loan program that would guarantee construction of a few renewable energy projects. However, this was only a small step in the right direction. The $18.5 million in loan guarantees currently approved for new nuclear energy projects may support three projects, which is far less than the number of projects that will be built over the next few years.
The creation of a federal financing institution called the Clean Energy Development Bank (modeled after the U.S. Export-Import Bank) could support green jobs. This bank could help ensure capital flows to clean technology development — including renewables, advanced co-based systems, nuclear, and other clean fuels — within the electricity sector.
A Clean Energy Bank, unlike many other infrastructure projects that would require government spending, will be self-financing. Companies using the program will cover the cost of the guarantee and all administrative costs. This will ensure that the program generates revenue. The program will lower electricity prices for all consumers, residential, commercial, and industrial, by lowering the capital cost.
