Keen for a Revival, the Nuclear Industry Eyes the Stimulus Package

January 7, 2009

By Kent Garber, U.S. News & World Report
With President-elect Barack Obama signaling that energy issues should be at the core of any economic stimulus package, the resurgent U.S. nuclear industry-like so many others-is pushing to make sure it's well represented. Industry representatives and lobbyists are asking lawmakers to use the economic stimulus package, estimated to be in the range of $700 billion to $800 billion, to help revive the country's long-dormant nuclear manufacturing sector, as well as to train workers for jobs within the industry, which is now precariously poised for an expansion. In recent years, more than two dozen applications for new reactors have been filed with federal regulators, after a 30-year drought in which no nuclear reactors were approved. The outcome of the industry's push for federal stimulus money could be revealing, because it will offer the first test of the new Congress's and the new president's support for nuclear power, as well as the scope of what they mean when they talk about creating "green jobs." In the campaign, Obama often chose his words carefully when addressing nuclear-related questions: He expressed support, but with reservation, and offered little in the way of elaboration.

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