A REPUB ENERGY PLAN

GOP Energy Plan Takes Shape...200 Nuclear Plants by 2050
Matin Rosenberg, January 21, 2011

"An emerging group of Republican leaders in Congress are putting together the elements of a new energy plan to help define a new national energy policy…Rep. Devin Nunes is emerging as one of the key architects…"

[Rep. Devin Nunes, R, Calif:] “…With half of our annual trade deficit related to energy and 70 percent of our oil coming from foreign sources, we have become dangerously dependent on unstable foreign governments…Throughout modern history, national energy consumption and economic prosperity have been closely correlated. Strong and healthy economies consume vast amounts of energy…[O]il, gas and coal continue to be the overwhelmingly dominant source of energy…Without these sources of energy, America would simply not function…[F]ossil fuels account for 84 percent of the energy we consume…”

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[Rep. Devin Nunes, R, Calif:] “…[T]he pace of energy innovation has been painstakingly slow…The American taxpayer deserves better. It is time for our nation's energy policy to be grounded in reality…The Roadmap for America's Energy Future recognizes that many options are available to secure our long-term energy security. The bill leverages these alternatives to produce a diverse energy portfolio that would offer much greater stability in the long run, as well as more affordable prices…”

[Rep. Devin Nunes, R, Calif:] “The Energy Roadmap begins by securing sufficient domestic fossil fuels for the coming decades, expanding oil production in the far reaches of northern Alaska, off our shores, and in the lower 48 through oil shale deposits…[B]illions of dollars in lease and royalty revenues…will be dedicated to a trust fund that will be used to secure the long-term energy needs of our country through the deployment of affordable renewable and alternative energy options…I have proposed unprecedented investments in new forms of energy - the largest investment in renewable energy in world history…”

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[Rep. Devin Nunes, R, Calif:] “…[P]ast investments in renewables have failed to provide meaningful choice or affordable energy alternatives…because federal funding for renewable and conventional energy alternatives have traditionally been provided to the most influential and well-connected special interests. I propose ending this cronyism by implementing a reverse auction that is blind to technology and immune from the influence of lobbyists or activists…[A]n energy producer would simply bid the minimum amount of federal assistance needed to create 1 megawatt of renewable electricity. The lowest bid will receive federal support…”

[Rep. Devin Nunes, R, Calif:] “…While additional investments in technologies and alternatives are needed…America's electrical demand can largely be met with the construction of 200 new [nuclear] reactors by 2050. The roadmap not only mandates the siting of these reactors, but it also paves the way for regulatory approval by streamlining the process…[N]uclear energy is greatly enhanced by the roadmap's waste recycling provision… The reforms contained in the roadmap present Congress with an opportunity to build a bridge to our nation's energy future without sacrificing our national prosperity. The plan will create real, high-paying jobs, and…reduce carbon emissions…[and] fund the most aggressive effort to deploy renewable energy in history…"