CSIS Establishes U.S. Nuclear Energy Project (USNEP) and Forms New Commission on Nuclear Energy Policy in the United States

WASHINGTON, October 14, 2011 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is pleased to announce the public launch of a new initiative, the U.S. Nuclear Energy Project (USNEP), and with it the Commission on Nuclear Energy Policy in the United States. The Commission is chaired by Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, CSIS trustee and former national security adviser; Mayo Shattuck, CEO of Constellation Energy; and Michael Wallace, CSIS senior adviser. The group includes public- and private-sector thought leaders interested in the future of U.S. domestic nuclear energy.

“Nuclear energy is an essential part of America’s clean energy future,” said CSIS trustee Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft. “We as a nation must address the current challenges in nuclear energy development based on that understanding, and the realization that superiority in nuclear technology also provides the basis for U.S. influence on safety and nonproliferation standards around the globe.”

The Commission will consider a variety of areas relevant to the nuclear industry, including financial structuring, safety, regulatory structures, nonproliferation, and waste. The group will conduct briefings, hold workshops, and welcome engagement from various members of the government, industry, and nongovernmental community. The Commission will make recommendations in a report to be published in 2012.

Commission Cochairs

Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft
Trustee, CSIS

Mayo Shattuck
CEO, Constellation Energy

Michael Wallace
Senior Adviser, CSIS

Commission Members

Mark Ayers
President, Building & Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO

David Christian
CEO, Dominion Generation

J.D. Crouch
President, Technology Solutions Group, QinetiQ North America

Charles Curtis
President Emeritus & Board Member, Nuclear Threat Initiative

James Ellis
President & CEO, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations

William Fehrman
President & CEO, MidAmerican Energy Company

Marvin Fertel
President & CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute

Gary Gates
President & CEO, Omaha Public Power District

C. Boyden Gray
Founding Partner, Boyden Gray & Associates LLP

John Hamre
President & CEO, CSIS

David Hill
Partner, Sidley Austin LLP

Tom Kilgore
President & CEO, Tennessee Valley Authority

Dale Klein
Associate Director, Energy Institute, University of Texas at Austin

Richard Meserve
President, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Ernest Moniz
Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Patrick Moore
Chairman & Chief Scientist, Greenspirit Strategies, Ltd.

James Rogers
Chairman, President & CEO, Duke Energy

James Schlesinger
Chairman, The MITRE Corporation

Clay Sell
President, Hunt Energy Horizons

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The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions; accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in these publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.

H. Andrew Schwartz
CSIS
www.csis.org