Al Santos, a Republican candidate for Florida’s 7th Congressional District, advocated for the use of nuclear energy to lessen the nation’s dependance on foreign oil.
“There’s no question we need to act now and move away from the dependency on foreign oil to power our communities and business,” Santos said. “We need to implement a comprehensive United States energy independence policy that can assure us that no matter what happens in the world, our energy needs will be covered domestically without impacting our citizens with high prices for electricity and gasoline. Therefore, we need to boost nuclear energy production across the nation, including Florida.”
Florida has five commercially operated nuclear reactors located at three sites, Crystal River, St. Lucie (Jensen Beach) and Homestead. The reactor at Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant Site has been decommissioned for some time now and there are no plans to restart it.
“Nuclear is a zero-emission, completely clean energy source with vast amounts of potential,” the candidate for Congress added. “By the end of 2021, the United States had 93 operating commercial nuclear reactors at 55 nuclear power plants in 28 states, including two nuclear power plants in Florida which produce more than 3,000 megawatts of clean, emission-free energy. Nuclear power is essential to Florida’s development, and we will push for new, more efficient, and safe reactions to increase production which will reduce the price our citizens pay for electricity in their homes, as well as our small business.”
Santos noted that Florida is the nation’s second-largest producer of electricity after Texas, with natural gas and fossil fuel accounting for about 75 percent of it.
“The math, the numbers and the science are there. For example, 1,000 megawatts can power up to 460,000 homes at a reduced price compared to other forms of energy such as coal. Although the cost of construction of a nuclear reactor is high, the reality is that on an even playing field, without external issues such as war, the price paid by our citizens in nuclear and fossil fuel is the same, with nuclear slightly less. The benefits are that in times of crisis or market fluctuation, where the cost of fossil fuel erupts, nuclear energy will keep the same level, even going down because of new technology. This is why we need nuclear power, to diversify our energy sector,” Santos concluded.
Lt. Colonel Santos is a decorated combat veteran with a distinguished record of more than 30 years of service in the United States Army. He served in Afghanistan, Colombia as well as in several American Embassies in different parts of the world. On August 23rd, the Republicans will pick their nominee for Florida’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Seminole and Volusia counties.
