Dr. Peter B. Lyons, Former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner and Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy in the U.S., and Stan Wise, Former Chairman of the Georgia Public Service Commission, add their voices to Nuclear Matters Advocacy Council
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 4, 2018) – Nuclear Matters today welcomed former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy, Dr. Peter Lyons, and former Chairman of the Georgia Public Service Commission, Stan Wise, as the newest members of the coalition’s Advocacy Council, a group of individuals from diverse backgrounds that serve as representatives for the national coalition. Nuclear Matters seeks to engage and inform policymakers and the public about the importance of nuclear energy plants in the U.S. due to their critical role producing carbon-free, reliable power and driving regional economies.
“I’ve spent most of my career working to ensure that when it comes to electricity, Americans have a power source that’s reliable, resilient, safe and carbon-free,” Dr. Lyons said. “I’m proud to add my voice to this incredibly accomplished council of experts working to protect our country’s nuclear future.”
“The nuclear energy sector is one of the safest and most heavily regulated industries in the world, and its generation capacity is imperative to maintaining America’s energy leadership. I know that our local economies and national security are dependent on nuclear power, just like I know that protecting America’s nuclear fleet is in the best interest of the country. This is why I’m pleased to join the Nuclear Matters Advocacy Council and use my experience to help ensure our nuclear facilities are around for years to come,” Mr. Wise said.
Dr. Lyons and Mr. Wise join a robust Advocacy Council that includes leaders in the academic, labor, finance, nuclear science and technology spaces, as well as former administration officials and members of Congress. These experts support Nuclear Matters’ work by helping to inform the public and policymakers that these vital national assets should not be taken for granted, as many of the country’s existing nuclear energy plants are in danger of shutting down, posing a threat to America’s ability to maintain a diverse, reliable and clean energy supply.
Dr. Lyons began his career at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he held various positions from 1969 until 1996 when he became Science Advisor to former U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. In this role, he advised the committee on military and civilian use of nuclear technology before being sworn in as Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in January 2005. When his term ended in 2009, he was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Nuclear Energy, and was later confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy.
Stan Wise began his first term as a Georgia Public Service Commissioner in January 1995 and was subsequently reelected to serve three additional terms in the role. He has also been a member of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, as well as the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, where he was elected president by his peers, serving in the role in 2003 and 2004. Mr. Wise is a champion of advanced nuclear energy technology and helped realize the construction of Plant Vogtle units 3 and 4, the only new nuclear reactors under construction in the U.S.
Other members of the Nuclear Matters Advocacy Council include:
- Carol M. Browner– Former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator and former Director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy
- Leslie Dewan– Co-founder and chief executive officer of Transatomic Power
- Alan Fellman –Certified Health Physicist, NV5 Dade Moeller and senior faculty, Dade Moeller Training Academy
- David Gattie– Associate professor of environmental engineering in the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia
- Senator Judd Gregg– Former United States Senator (R-NH) and former Governor of New Hampshire
- Denise Ingoe– Region I coordinator for Women in Nuclear and a member of the Exelon Generation Mid-Atlantic Fleet Assessment Team
- Heather Matteson and Kristin Zaitz– Co-founders of Mothers for Nuclear
- Sean McGarvey– President of the North America's Building Trades Unions
- Ray Rothrock– Chief executive officer of RedSeal and partner emeritus at Venrock
- Lonnie Stephenson– President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
- Chris Wolfe– Public Information Chair of North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NAYGN)
To learn more or join in the efforts of Nuclear Matters, please visit www.NuclearMatters.com.
About Nuclear Matters
Nuclear Matters® is a national coalition that works to inform the public and policymakers about the clear benefits of nuclear energy. The coalition supports solutions that properly value nuclear energy as a reliable, affordable, safe and carbon-free electricity resource that is essential to America’s energy future.
Nuclear Matters engages stakeholders and energy consumers around the country to educate and activate them in support of current and future nuclear energy use and to promote solutions that will help to preserve this essential energy resource.
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