Energize S.C. job creation

By Dr. PATRICK MOORE
Friday, June 18, 2010

Business and policy leaders in the U.S. and South Carolina have the chance to generate substantial, long-term economic benefits, protect the environment, and address long-term energy needs, all by supporting innovation and expansion of clean energy industries.

One such clean energy source is nuclear energy, which generates over 70 percent of all carbon-free electricity in America. The nation will need 23 percent more electricity by 2030 — and more nuclear energy will be needed in order to meet that rising demand without producing air pollution or greenhouse gases.

South Carolina is already a national leader in nuclear energy. The state is home to seven reactors that produce more than 50 percent of the state’s power. Two more reactors are being developed by Santee Cooper and SCANA at the Summer plant in Fairfield County and Duke Energy has filed license applications for two additional reactors in Cherokee County. Today more than 600 workers are already engaged in preconstruction work on-site. And when these reactors are built, the construction phase alone could employ approximately 3,000 people for three to four years, with 600 to 800 additional fulltime jobs for South Carolina workers after construction is completed.

These jobs aren’t limited to the plant — for every permanent job created at a nuclear plant, two to three jobs are created in the surrounding community. These are permanent jobs that can’t be shipped overseas — welcome news for a state with 11.6 percent unemployment.

However, in order to remain on a sustainable path, continued investment in new nuclear energy facilities — and the reliable electricity and jobs that these new plants produce — is needed. The good news is that nuclear energy technology is poised for dramatic growth. The nuclear energy industry stands ready to provide thousands of long-term, high-paying jobs at new plants, and due to retirement rates for the current industry work force, thousands of new jobs will become available at existing plants.

Thirty-five percent of the current nuclear industry work force may be eligible to retire within five years, and almost half of the nuclear engineers in the Carolinas will be eligible for retirement within three years. Nationally, the industry will provide opportunities for approximately 19,600 workers to replace retirees and 6,300 to account for other attrition before 2012.

This expansion would also boost the state’s economic base, as each of the more than 100 nuclear reactors in operation around the country contributes an estimated $430 million a year in goods and services for the neighboring area, along with nearly $40 million in total labor income, according to the Clean and Safe Energy (CASEnergy) Coalition, a national grassroots coalition that I co-chair along with former EPA administrator Christie Whitman. The coalition supports new nuclear plants on both economic and environmental grounds.

Last month, the CASEnergy Coalition joined leaders from the manufacturing, economic development and wind energy sectors to unveil a ‘Policy Roadmap for Clean Energy,’ which advocates a diverse U.S. clean energy portfolio that places a premium on job creation.

The roadmap makes four broad policy recommendations:

1 – Enact policies to take control of America’s energy security

2 – Ensure access to financing for clean energy projects

3 – Increase investment in clean energy jobs

4 – Address storage needs for used nuclear fuel

There’s no reason that such economic development, energy security and clean air benefits should be limited when so many state economies stand to benefit from building new nuclear energy plants.

Energy companies are motivated and ready to hire, creating thousands of new jobs that will help the country meet its growing electricity needs while preserving the environment. With targeted policy support, we can help ensure that nuclear energy’s economic and environmental benefits are enjoyed in South Carolina and around the country.

Dr. Patrick Moore is a co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace and co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy), a national grassroots coalition that promotes the benefits of nuclear energy as part of a green-energy economy.