WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) delivered remarks on the Senate floor about the need for more nuclear energy.
Read excerpts from the speech below or watch here.
“I come to the floor today to talk about the need for more American energy. We are now in the coldest time of the year. The demand for energy is going up as people try to keep warm. This is placing a strain on our power grid across this country. This Administration obviously has no solution for this problem. I think they’re adding to the problem. The Biden Administration is on a crusade to make us dependent on unreliable renewable resources like wind and solar – and I’m not against wind and solar, I think it is very good. I think it’s feasible that we invest in that. There’s a role that it plays in our economy. But we can’t depend on wind and solar. It’s not possible. The sun doesn’t shine every day. And the wind doesn’t blow every day. Our energy grid needs to stay running for 24 hours [a day]. What a thought? Despite Joe Biden’s best effort, most of our energy grid today still comes from fossil fuels. And, by the way, it will always come from fossil fuels unless we have another alternative, which I will talk about. […]
“We need an all-above approach to American energy production to keep prices low and capacity high. We have to have it. And how do we do that? We do it by investing in nuclear power. […]
“Right now, nuclear makes up about 20 percent of our energy grid. […] You know, I’m proud the United States has the most nuclear power production of any country in the world, I think it shows that we’re a leader, but we should get back to it. We could be producing a lot more nuclear energy right now, but as I said earlier, the red tape from this Administration and the climate cons are slowing permitting and production. […]
“The Biden Administration is obsessed with wind and solar, but they know deep down that they can’t touch nuclear energy. They know that their left-wing voting base hates nuclear energy. […] This opposition to nuclear power really has no basis and no facts. It’s bad economics and it’s bad environmental policy. […]
“My state of Alabama’s energy workers are keeping the lights on for people across our country. Right now, as we speak, there are thousands of Alabama energy workers off the Gulf Coast exploring for oil and gas. I’m also proud that Alabama is America’s fifth-largest producer of nuclear energy. We have two nuclear plants and five nuclear reactors. The Tennessee Valley Authority operates Browns Ferry in Athens, Alabama, which is TVA’s largest nuclear plant. The plant producers one-fifth of the TVA’s energy which covers a lot of the South. It directly supports 1,500 jobs and powers more than 2 million homes. In the Wiregrass of Alabama, Alabama Power runs Plant Farley, which produces about a fifth of Alabama Power’s electricity. […]
“It’s clear we need to stop the obsession with wind and solar. We can use that, but we can do a better job of investing in nuclear energy. We need to fix the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Right now, it takes about ten years. Ten years to get a nuclear reactor approved in our country. There’s no good reason that it should take so long. We also ought to support advanced small module reactors called SMRs. They’re safe, they’re cheaper, and they’re quicker to build. They’re small reactors with lower demands for fuel. […] It can bring energy costs down and also emissions down.
“It’s time we got to work on nuclear energy. The polls show the American people are becoming more and more supportive of nuclear power. There’s no doubt about that. A clear majority of the American people want and need more nuclear plants. This should be a bipartisan issue. Let’s look out for the American people. It’s good economics. It’s good energy policy. It’s good for our environment and it’s long, long overdue.”
BACKGROUND:
Coach Tuberville believes Joe Biden’s overregulation of American energy is driving up prices and killing jobs. Coach Tuberville supports an all-of-the-above approach to American energy, including increasing the use of environmentally-safe and affordable nuclear energy.
In 2023, Coach Tuberville introduced legislation to support American production and increase duties on Russian imports of ferrosilicon, a material that improves the strength and quality of steel that is used in the manufacturing of steel appliances, bridges, automobiles, and more. The U.S. currently imports around 40% of all ferrosilicon imports from Russia, which limits American production and jobs.
In a letter, Coach Tuberville joined his colleagues in requesting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Michael Regan, withdraw the Clean Power Plan 2.0 proposed rule.
Coach Tuberville joined his colleagues in a bipartisan letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm, raising their concern about a proposed rule by the DOE that increases efficiency standards on distribution transformers – critical grid products – at a time when the availability of essential grid components remains a significant challenge for the electric power industry, and while the industry is struggling due to a substantial increase in demand, supply chain issues, and skilled workforce shortage.
Coach Tuberville also submitted a comment to Secretary Granholm opposing the Administration’s proposed rule to disrupt production of critical distribution transformers, which would inhibit electric utilities’ ability to meet their customers’ needs.
In a floor speech, Coach rejected climate hysteria and encouraged clean domestic energy production.
In 2022, Coach Tuberville introduced the Thorium Energy Security Act to prevent the destruction of Uranium 233 (U-233), a critical element used to produce clean energy.
In a floor speech, Coach Tuberville spoke about the hypocrisy of Left-wing climate activists and the dangers of the energy shortage created by President Biden’s war on fossil fuels.
Coach also introduced the American Energy Independence Act of 2022, which reverses President Biden’s shutdown of the American energy sector and returns American energy to full production.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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