President Bush at Browns Ferry

From the Huntsville Times:

President Bush, speaking at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens, said the nation's energy policy "must include" the use of nuclear power and he called for the construction of new nuclear plants across the country.

"It's time for our country to start building nuclear power plants again," he said. "It's one thing to restart one, and I congratulate you. It's another thing to build a new one."

At the outset of his comments, Bush thanked TVA workers for bringing in the Unit 1 reactor restart "on budget and on time." The unit was restarted on May 22 after being dormant for 22 years.

He announced his Nuclear Power 2010 initiative to remove "regulatory burdens" that might hold up the approval and construction of new nuclear power plants. TVA is looking to build a new plant at Bellefonte near Scottsboro, a nuclear plant that was never completed.

More later.