Nuclear generation appears to be the only mature technology we have that can generate high volumes of electricity at low cost, dependably, without polluting the air or contributing to global warming. This is a very strong reason to build more.

Since the last nuclear plant was commissioned in the early 1990s, we have met much of our increasing demand for electricity with fossil fuels. Nuclear power could help us meet environmental goals such as those outlined by the Kyoto Protocol.

There’s more. Advanced nuclear plants are also being considered for their potential to produce hydrogen — splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, in a process that produces no waste. This low-cost hydrogen could then be used as a fuel — replacing oil or gas. Such an affordable domestically produced fuel would revolutionize our economy, and give us independence from foreign oil and gas. Hydrogen, by the way, also burns clean — with the potential to greatly improve our air quality.

What about nuclear waste? Used nuclear fuel is very manageable. All the used fuel from all 103 reactors in this country since they began operating could be stacked in a space the size of a football field, and would be just 5 yards high. Since the beginning of the industry, the waste has been stored safely at the 103 plants, in steel-lined concrete pools of water robustly-designed dry storage casks. Yucca Mountain, next to the original Nevada nuclear testing site, has been chosen by Congress to be the federal depository of all high level nuclear waste. It is even being designed so that the used fuel can be retrieved in the future, if world energy supplies become so restricted or high priced that it is advantageous for our economy to reclaim and reprocess the fuel.

Advanced technologies are addressing many safety and security issues, making the nuclear option even more attractive.