By: Glenn McCullough, Jr.

Turn on the lights, the coffee maker and the television. Power up your cell phone and your laptop. Everything we do and use requires energy; energy powers productivity, prosperity and fuels our quality of life. A one percent growth in GDP requires .4 percent increase in electricity supply. Energy provides jobs and creates new job opportunities. With five smart steps in energy policy, the U.S. can have an affordable, clean, sustainable, secure and prosperous energy future.

Step 1 – Build advanced nuclear energy plants. Nuclear energy provides 20 percent of the nation’s electricity but comprises 70 percent of our carbon-free electricity with no nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury or
particulate emissions. Nuclear plants are online 91 percent of the time making nuclear the most reliable source of electricity. Nuclear energy is affordable with an average cost of around 1.9 cents per kWh. Nuclear energy is safe. The U.S. Bureau of Labor reports that it is safer to work in a nuclear power plant than in a bank. Nuclear energy is also sustainable: ample uranium supplies exist and the U.S. should begin to recycle used fuel which can power our nuclear plants for centuries. But we must close the fuel cycle – the U.S. Department of Energy should comply with the Nuclear Energy Act of 1982 and utilize the more than $24 billion paid by ratepayers to build a secure, national repository like Yucca Mountain. Nuclear energy can be an economic boon. According to one of the largest U.S. electric utility companies, building 1,000 megawatts of advanced nuclear energy provides more than twice the amount of jobs than wind and six times more jobs than solar. What’s more nuclear power plant employees earn high average salaries – yet another reason 74 percent of Americans favor nuclear energy.

Step 2- Implement clean coal technologies. What oil is to Saudi Arabia coal is to the U.S.: it is our most abundant energy source, and we have a 250 year supply. Today, coal fuels nearly 50 percent of U.S. electricity. New environmental control technologies block the emissions of up to 99 percent of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury and particulate matter.

Additionally, carbon dioxide emissions can be captured for use in enhanced oil recovery to access ”stranded” domestic oil pockets reported to be as large as four times the proven U.S. oil reserves. New technologies are
making U.S. coal power work for cleaner air and affordable, sustainable energy.

Step 3- Deploy the SmartGrid. Knowledge is power. A SmartGrid will provide real-time information enabling the consumer to use electricity wisely for energy efficiency and to improve air and environmental quality. By making the electric grid more efficient, the SmartGrid will increase reliability, maintain affordability, and reinforce our global competitiveness.

Step 4- Accelerate electric transportation. Transportation consumes more than 65 percent of the crude oil used in the U.S. Reducing our dependence on crude oil is good for the environment and will enhance the nation’s energy security. Progress in developing batteries for electric cars and trucks makes electric transportation a win for energy security, the environment and economy.

Step 5- Promote sustainable energy. Each state can and should decide which sustainable fuel sources are viable to provide value. A federally mandated “one size fits all” or renewables only approach would be counterproductive. For example, Southwest states have abundant solar power which can be harnessed for electricity generation. Midwestern states have wind. Southeastern states are blessed with biomass. River and coastal states can harness hydropower. Renewable energy is sustainable energy only where it
makes good economic sense for the consumer.

There are additional steps we can take – greater energy efficiency measures, supergrid transmission technology and local energy networks. But by implementing these five first steps, Americans can have the energy, clean environment and economic growth for a brighter future.

Glenn L. McCullough Jr. is a former Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority, former Mayor or Tupelo, Miss. and current Chairman of Advance Mississippi, an energy policy organization.