Nuclear power, energy, and the national debate

Conference · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1976 · Proc. Am. Power Conf.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5270938

McCormack, R A

The U.S. power industry is engaged in a national debate. On the outside, it appears to be a nuclear issue, but basically it is energy, growth, capitalism, institutions, and the way of life itself. It is a new experience for the engineers in the power industry, who, in the past handled their responsibilities in a ''low-key way, the way of the specialist.'' All this has changed. The author reviews the concerns the power industry now faces--the lack of an energy policy, state referenda, power plant delays, lobbying for financial support, energy shortages, and fragmentation of the energy industry. The author urges ''that we of the third estate establish a permanent national energy forum bringing together every major sector of the energy industry--coal, oil, uranium, the electric utilities, suppliers and users of high technology, those on the forefront of research for using new fuels, and the major financial institutions who must obtain for all the rest of us in the private sector the money we need from the investor marketplace. The founding purpose and initial task would be to assemble a panel of statesmen from the private sector, following the pattern employed by the National Petroleum Council, to undertake and direct in the next year a fundamental reassessment of the role of the private sector in energy supply and in the research, development, and full commercialization of advanced energy production technology.'' (MCW)

• Research Organization: RAMCO, Inc., La Jolla, CA
• OSTI ID: 5270938
• Journal Information: Proc. Am. Power Conf.; (United States), Vol. 38; Conference: American power conference, Chicago, IL, USA, 20 Apr 1976; Other Information: See CONF-760469--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY
REVIEWS
NUCLEAR POWER
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
POWER GENERATION
COMMERCIALIZATION
ENERGY POLICY
ENERGY SHORTAGES
ENERGY SUPPLIES
INDUSTRY
INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT
POWER PLANTS
PUBLIC RELATIONS
USA
DOCUMENT TYPES
NORTH AMERICA
POWER
296000* - Energy Planning & Policy- Electric Power
290600 - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy