Alexander Warns That "Our Clean-Energy Future Must Be a Cheap-Energy Future"

Press Release

Says, "If We Want Good Jobs, Cost Matters When It Comes to Energy"

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today warned Tennessee Valley industrial leaders that "America's clean-energy future needs also to be a cheap-energy future, or we will drive jobs overseas looking for that cheap energy and hurt Americans who can't afford their utility bills."

The senator said, "The best way to have energy that is both clean and cheap over the next 20 years is to build 100 new nuclear power plants, electrify half our cars and trucks and double research and development for alternative energies such as solar and advanced biofuels.

"The very best news is that Tennessee's capacity to be a central player in that clean- and cheap-energy future is right under our noses, because of the technology corridor between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Huntsville and the relocation of the auto industry to the southeast."

Senator Alexander recently introduced clean-energy legislation with Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.). Their "Clean Energy Act of 2009" is a bipartisan bill that would create the right business and regulatory atmosphere to build 100 new nuclear plants in the next 20 years and promote further investment in and development of other clean-energy technologies.

Of the legislation, Senator Alexander said, "If we were going to war, we wouldn't mothball our nuclear navy and start subsidizing sailboats. If addressing climate change and creating low-cost, reliable energy are national imperatives, we shouldn't stop building nuclear plants and start subsidizing windmills."

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