President Obama:
Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Please have
a seat. Have a seat. Good morning, everybody.
Before I begin let me just acknowledge some
of the people who are standing behind me here:
First of all, two people who have been working
really hard to make this day happen -- Secretary
Steven Chu, my Energy Secretary -- Steven Chu.
(applause)
And my White House advisor on everything
having to do with energy, Carol Browner.
(applause)
I want to acknowledge the outstanding governor
of Maryland, Martin O'Malley, as well as his
lieutenant governor, Anthony Brown.
(applause)
We've got Mark Ayers from the building trades,
and Billy Hite from the UA Plumbers and Pipefitters
-- give them a big round of applause.
(applause)
Gregory Jaczko, who's with the Nuclear Energy
Commission, is here. Where is he?
(applause)
Ed Hill, president of IBEW International.
(applause)
And I want to thank Chuck Graham and everybody
here at Local 26 for their great hospitality.
(applause)
Thank you for the warm welcome. Thanks for
showing me around. I was just mentioning that
I got a chance to pull the first fire
alarm since I was in junior high.
(laughter)
And I didn't get in trouble for it. This is
an extraordinarily impressive facility, where
workers are instructed on everything from
the installation of sophisticated energy hardware
and software to the basics of current and
resistance. We need to look no further than
the workers and apprentices who are standing
behind me to see the future that's possible
when it comes to clean energy. It's a future
in which skilled laborers are helping us lead
in burgeoning industries. It's a future in
which renewable electricity is fueling plug-in
hybrid cars and energy-efficient homes and
businesses. It's a future in which we're exporting
homegrown energy technology instead of importing
foreign oil. And it's a future in which our
economy is powered not by what we borrow and
spend but what we invent and what we build.
That's the bright future that lies ahead for
America. And it's one of -- it's a future
that my administration is striving to achieve
each and every day. We've already made the
largest investment in clean energy in history
as part of the Recovery Act -- an investment
that is expected to create more than 700,000
jobs across America -- manufacturing advanced
batteries for more fuel-efficient vehicles,
upgrading the power grid so that it's smarter
and it's stronger, doubling our nation's capacity
to generate renewable energy. And after decades
in which we have done little to increase the
efficiency of cars and trucks, we've raised
fuel economy standards to reduce our dependence
on foreign oil while helping folks save money
at the pump. But in order to truly harness
our potential in clean energy we're going
to have to do more, and that's why we're here.
In the near term, as we transition to cleaner
energy sources, we're going to have to make
some tough decisions about opening up new
offshore areas for oil and gas development.
We'll need to make continued investments in
advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies,
even as we build greater capacity in renewables
like wind and solar. And we're going to have
to build a new generation of safe, clean nuclear
power plants in America. That's what brings
us here. Through the Department of Energy
-- under the leadership of Nobel prize-winning
physicist, Steven Chu -- although, just a
quick side note: When he was talking to some
of the instructors here, and they were talking
about currents and this and that and the other,
I indicated to him that he could have saved
a lot of money. Instead of getting a Ph.D.,
he could have come here and learned some of
the same stuff.
(laughter and applause)
You know, the instructors here were just keeping
up -- they were right there with him. But
through the Department of Energy and Secretary
Chu's leadership, we are announcing roughly
$8 billion in loan guarantees to break ground
on the first new nuclear plant in our country
in three decades -- the first new nuclear
power plant in nearly three decades.
(applause)
It's a plant that will create thousands of
construction jobs in the next few years, and
some 800 permanent jobs -- well-paying permanent
jobs -- in the years to come. And this is
only the beginning. My budget proposes tripling
the loan guarantees we provide to help finance
safe, clean nuclear facilities -- and we'll
continue to provide financing for clean energy
projects here in Maryland and across America.
Now, there will be those that welcome this
announcement, those who think it's been long
overdue. But there are also going to be those
who strongly disagree with this announcement.
The same has been true in other areas of our
energy debate, from offshore drilling to putting
a price on carbon pollution. But what I want
to emphasize is this: Even when we have differences,
we cannot allow those differences to prevent
us from making progress. On an issue that
affects our economy, our security, and the
future of our planet, we can't keep on being
mired in the same old stale debates between
the left and the right, between environmentalists
and entrepreneurs. See, our competitors are
racing to create jobs and command growing
energy industries. And nuclear energy is no
exception. Japan and France have long invested
heavily in this industry. Meanwhile, there
are 56 nuclear reactors under construction
around the world: 21 in China alone; six in
South Korea; five in India. And the commitment
of these countries is not just generating
the jobs in those plants; it's generating
demand for expertise and new technologies.
So make no mistake: Whether it's nuclear
energy, or solar or wind energy, if we fail
to invest in the technologies of tomorrow,
then we're going to be importing those technologies
instead of exporting them. We will fall behind.
Jobs will be produced overseas, instead of
here in the United States of America. And
that's not a future that I accept. Now, I
know it's been long assumed that those who
champion the environment are opposed to nuclear
power. But the fact is, even though we've
not broken ground on a new power plant --
 new nuclear plant in 30 years, nuclear energy
remains our largest source of fuel that produces
no carbon emissions. To meet our growing energy
needs and prevent the worst consequences of
climate change, we'll need to increase our
supply of nuclear power. It's that simple.
This one plant, for example, will cut carbon
pollution by 16 million tons each year when
compared to a similar coal plant. That's like
taking 3.5 million cars off the road. On the
other side, there are those who have long
advocated for nuclear power -- including many
Republicans -- who have to recognize that
we're not going to achieve a big boost in
nuclear capacity unless we also create a system
of incentives to make clean energy profitable.
That's not just my personal conclusion; it's
the conclusion of many in the energy industry
itself, including CEOs of the nation's largest
utility companies. Energy leaders and experts
recognize that as long as producing carbon
pollution carries no cost, traditional plants
that use fossil fuels will be more cost-effective
than plants that use nuclear fuel. That's
why we need comprehensive energy and climate
legislation, and why this legislation has
drawn support from across the ideological
spectrum. I raised this just last week with
congressional Republican leaders. I believe there's
real common ground here. And my administration
will be working to build on areas of agreement
so that we can pass a bipartisan energy and
climate bill through the Senate. Now, none
of this is to say that there aren't some serious
drawbacks with respect to nuclear energy that
have to be addressed. As the CEOs standing
behind me will tell you, nuclear power generates
waste, and we need to accelerate our efforts
to find ways of storing this waste safely
and disposing of it. That's why we've asked
a bipartisan group of leaders and nuclear
experts to examine this challenge. And these
plants also have to be held to the highest
and strictest safety standards to answer the
legitimate concerns of Americans who live
near and far from these facilities. That's
going to be an imperative. But investing in
nuclear energy remains a necessary step. What
I hope is that with this announcement, we're
underscoring both our seriousness in meeting
the energy challenge and our willingness to
look at this challenge not as a partisan issue
but as a matter that's far more important
than politics -- because the choices we make
will affect not just the next generation but
many generations to come. The fact is changing
the ways we produce and use energy requires
us to think anew; it requires us to act anew;
and it demands of us a willingness to extend
our hand across some of the old divides, to
act in good faith, and to move beyond the
broken politics of the past. That's what we
must do; that's what we will do. Thank
you very much, everybody. Appreciate it.
(applause)
