After a gap of over thirty years, America will once again begin constructing nuclear power plants. President Obama’s State of the Union address proclaimed the commitment to a “new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country”. In accordance with that promise, a pair of 1,150 MW reactors will be built in Augusta, Georgia get with financial assistance from the Obama Administration.
The reactors are expected to supply power for over 1.4 million people and create employment for 850 people. The construction process is expected to create over 3,000 jobs. It might not seem like much, but in these times of poor public opinion, Obama needs every little bit of public support that he can muster. Recent polls have been critical of his inability to stay focused on issues that matter like the economy and unemployment.
The two new reactors will join a force of 104 that exist across 31 states. No new reactors have been built since 1979 when the Three Mile Island reactor suffered a major accident. That caused public and political support to shift away from the industry until Obama’s belief in nuclear power and clean energy jobs was made evident by this decision. The current force of nuclear reactors supply only 20 % of the nation’s power requirements but that figure is accountable for 70 % of the total clean energy produced. The impact of the new reactors will take a few years to be apparent, especially considering the fact that they have not yet been granted construction or operating licenses yet which may even take as long as 2012 for that to happen.