Wooten: For Georgia and the Nation, Build More Nuclear Power Plants

In Friday's edition of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Jim Wooten wrote an editorial in support of the expanded use of nuclear energy that's generated 157 comments and counting:

Clearly the nation does need to move promptly to get back into the nuclear power business in a major way. In France, 78.1 percent of electricity comes from nuclear. ItÂ’s cheap, clean, safe and efficient. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Belgium gets 55.1 percent, Japan 29.3 and the United States 19.9. About three-fourths of this nationÂ’s emission-free power generation comes from nuclear.

Georgia Power adds 40,000 customers per year, and thatÂ’s about half the new customers coming online in Georgia yearly. The two 1,200-megawatt reactors at Vogtle alone generate about 11 percent of its electric-power needs.

The nation has been timid too long. Company officials have made no decision yet on whether to add the two reactors at Vogtle. The correct decision, for Georgia and for the nation, is yes. Build.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Electricity, Environment, Energy