We just got back from New York City, where Nuclear Matters hosted an event at Bloomberg’s Future of Energy Summit to discuss the value of our nuclear energy plants. Leadership Council member Carol Browner - the US' longest-serving EPA Administrator - was joined by the Nuclear Energy Institute’s Maria Korsnick, Former NRC Commissioner Jeffrey Merrifield and NuScale Power’s Jay Surina in presenting to the packed room.
Here are our 3 top takeaways from the event:
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Nuclear is the nation’s most reliable source of energy. In fact, as Korsnick shared, nuclear plants ran at an impressive 92% of their full capacity last year.
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We need nuclear plants as part of our broader climate strategy. Said Browner, “As we think about reducing carbon emissions, it doesn’t make sense to take the existing nuclear fleet off the table.”
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Nuclear = sustainable energy and sustainable jobs. In fact, existing plants support 18,000 New York jobs and 475,000 jobs in all across the country.
This was Nuclear Matters' second year at the summit, which convenes hundreds of experts in energy markets, industry, finance and policy from around the world. This year's speakers included Secretary of State John Kerry and the UN Secretary General's first Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, Michael Bloomberg.
For more information about nuclear’s benefits to New York - which receives almost 2/3 of it's carbon-free energy from nuclear plants - visit www.NuclearMatters.com/ValueOfNuclearNY.