-Timbers Says Nuclear Is a Key to Economic Development and Global Warming Reduction-
In remarks delivered yesterday in Moscow, William H. Timbers, president and chief executive officer of USEC Inc., called for an end to the "energy amnesia" that keeps nuclear power from being recognized as one of the key components of a sorely needed "clean team" of environmentally superior sources of energy.Timbers spoke at an international conference on the long-term management and disposition of used nuclear fuel. Sponsored by the Russian Ministry for Atomic Energy and Tenex, the conference, "Irradiated Nuclear Fuel Management 2002: Russian New Initiatives," is being held September 8-12.
Electricity is necessary in order to power world economic development and prosperity, Timbers said. Yet one-third of the world's population has no electricity. At the same time, many developing nations are creating tremendous health and environmental problems by using poor quality fossil fuels, with few environmental controls, to generate the power they need.
Fuels used to generate electricity usually are not clean. Coal, oil and natural gas all release greenhouse gases and air pollutants when they are burned. Solar, wind power and fuel cells will all have a growing role in the efforts to combat global warming and address the energy infrastructure needed in the not too distant future. As of today, however, nuclear power is a proven energy resource that already makes a major contribution and does not release any of the pollutants that contribute to global warming.
In the future, Timbers said, both developing and industrialized nations will need substantially more dependable, economical electricity generated by a broad range of clean, non-polluting fuels--the energy clean team. Nuclear power will certainly be a part of that team.
Timbers pointed out that 16 percent of the world's electricity is produced by 438 nuclear power reactors in 30 countries. Yet this powerful, environmentally sound energy source is being deliberately ignored by many groups seeking implementation and acceptance of the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol aims to reduce worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases caused, in part, by the burning of fossil fuels. An example of such "energy amnesia," Timbers said, occurred at the World Summit on Sustainable Development held recently in Johannesburg, South Africa, when nuclear power was excluded from serious consideration during deliberations on acceptable energy sources. Ironically, Timbers noted, a large share of the city of Kyoto's electricity is produced by a fleet of nuclear power reactors, which do not generate any air pollution or greenhouse gases.
Turning to the focus of the Moscow conference, Timbers said that, for the use of nuclear power to expand, the public must be confident that credible and workable solutions exist for the management and disposal of nuclear waste and used fuel.
Unlike other major energy resources, the waste from nuclear power is comparatively modest in quantity, isolated and safely managed. Many of the nations using nuclear power have permanent disposition programs well underway. In the United States, the government is moving forward to license Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a permanent nuclear waste repository.
Timbers concluded that it is time to wake up to the reality that nuclear power is a leading global energy resource that, along with other clean fuels, will have to expand in usage to maintain a growing global standard of living in the face of diminishing oil supplies and rising temperatures. Bridging the gap between economic development and prosperity will require more clean energy sources that do not contribute to global warming--and that includes a growing role for the already proven reliability of nuclear power.
USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU), a global energy company, is the world's leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
CONTACT: USEC Inc.
Elizabeth Stuckle, 301/564-3399
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