For the Record
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry testified to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce today regarding the Fiscal Year 2019 Department of Energy Budget.
He commented on a variety of DOE initiatives, including R&D
funding, the Integrated University Program, and DOE's role in aiding
civil nuclear programs:
On the Saudi Arabia 123 negotiations: if
we do not succeed in [negotiations], the alternatives are China or
Russia. Number one, neither of those countries care about
nonproliferation. The other one is we will lose the opportunity to
develop our supply chain and intellectual chain that will further put
America at a disadvantage... not just on the civil nuclear side, but
also down the road in our ability to protect the country from a nuclear
weapons standpoint. This is a critical time in US history relative to
supporting civil nuclear
energy.
On R&D funding: Innovation
rather that regulation is the motto from our perspective. Whether it's
from the nuclear side of things or the fossil fuels or the renewables,
the national labs and the dollars [Congress is] authorizing for the
national labs will go a long ways towards making America more
competitive in the energy marketplace.
On SMRs: We
think SMRs are incredibly important in the future, in the role that
they play, particularly for our national security, if the concern is
about keeping these devices secure. SMRs are going to play a very very
important role in the diversity of our energy supply.
On the Integrated University Program:
There are a number of places across the country we're partnering with
[universities like the Universty of Missiouri]. [Producing medical
isotopes] for precision medicine and [for] our ability to practice
precision medicine, these facilities are going to be important.
On funding ITER:
The previous management was very very poor. They wasted a lot of money.
They have new management now. We have a couple of projects that are
being funded...if this committee and if Congress get comfortable, along
with administration, that it is headed in right direction, we will make
sure the US dollars that are expended there are expended properly, and
that there's good oversight, and that we have the proper outcomes that
we've been looking for.
On DOE's role in reforming energy markets: One of the roles DOE needs to play is to rebalance...to take our thumb off the market scale.
On national security versus economic efficiency:
With that in mind, the more important issue is national security, to
know without a doubt that our energy supply will be there when we need
it, whether from a cyber-attack that stops transmission of gas
somewhere, whether it's a hurricane... that hits the northeast or some
part of the country. The national security side is even more important
than economic side.
On a potential 202(c) ruling on FirstEnergy's coal and nuclear plants: I'd
like to work with you and Congress on any other options that are out
there, that are reasonable, that get the result of which we need, the
result of which from my perspective is a diverse portfolio...I think
it's really important for this country to have a civil nuclear program
in place. Too many previous administrations made some decisions that
from my perspective put particularly the nuclear energy industry in
jeopardy. We now see the results of that.
On the timing of that ruling: Expedition is of importance.
On being an Aggie:
Whoop!
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