Sen. Lamar Alexander is calling on Congress to include nuclear power in its energy portfolio, touting it as a reliable source of low-carbon energy that consumes a small fraction of the land used by other energy sources like wind, solar, and biomass.

 

Speaking at an RFF Policy Leadership Forum Monday, the Tennessee Republican said building 100 new nuclear plants in the next 20 years, electrifying half the U.S. vehicle fleet, and the addition of solar panels to roofs of existing structures is “the best way to reach the necessary carbon goals for climate change with the least damage to our environment and to our economy.”

 

Alexander’s remarks drew heavily from a recent Nature Conservancy report. The research offered some interesting insight, which should be taken with a caveat, into the variation in land use for different energy sources. It’s a concept the paper’s authors dub “energy sprawl.”

 

(Chart Source)

Sen. Alexander asked event attendees “to do something that gives many conservationists a stomach ache whenever it is mentioned--and that is to rethink nuclear power, because as the Nature Conservancy’s paper details, nuclear power in several ways produces the largest amounts of carbon-free electricity with the least impact.” But despite the senator’s strong support—and the support of numerous prominent Republicans—nuclear’s place in any domestic legislation is largely uncertain.

 

Draft climate legislation in the Senate seems to have given nuclear a greater push than the House’s bill, including provisions that offer funding for research and development and remove barriers to deployment. Green Grok Dr. Bill Chameides says if history is any indicator, nuclear proponents shouldn’t count their reactors before they’ve hatched:

 

Nuclear energy is one of those hot-button issues. For some Senate fence-sitters support for nuclear energy is critical and thus fleshing out these provisions may help to bring such folks into the fold. But for many environmentalists, support of nuclear power is a deal-killer. At least that was the case in 2005 when subsidies for nuclear were added to the McCain-Lieberman climate bill. The addition brought minimal support from the right, while losing the support of key Democratic senators (including Barbara Boxer). In the end the bill went down to a resounding defeat.

 

Visit RFF’s event page to watch Sen. Alexander’s address or find a link to a transcript of his remarks.

 

Tiffany Clements is managing editor of Weathervane.