Chu vows to push nuclear power

By: Erika Lovley
Politico
January 13, 2009

Steven Chu said on Tuesday that he would push as the new energy secretary to help the nuclear energy and clean coal industries jump-start their contributions to battle the nation’s energy crisis.

The Nobel Prize-winning physicist told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during his confirmation hearing that he’d help streamline nuclear loan guarantees that would help the industry construct several new plants to produce low-emission energy and would push the Energy Department to examine options for recycling nuclear waste.

“I’m supportive of the fact that the nuclear industry should have to be part of energy mix in this century,” Chu said. “And recycling [nuclear waste] in the long term can be part of the solution.”

If confirmed by the Senate, the 60-year-old director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory would face the daunting task of moving the country forward on renewable energy, tackling global warming and overseeing the nation’s nuclear arsenal, senators cautioned.

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