Kottkamp goes nuclear with French energy
company in Naples
By VICTORIA MACCHI
Clean and green were the key words
used to describe the goals for the
state's energy resources on Tuesday
night.
Filling in for Gov. Charlie Crist,
Kottkamp flew in from
to speak for 10 minutes at a private
event for French energy conglomerate Areva, which
primarily deals in nuclear energy.
"There's no doubt about it, we talk about this in the
governor's
office a lot," Kottkamp
told the crowd of several hundred of the
company's employees. "Clean energy is
important to
Crist will lead a trade and business
initiative to
including visits to Areva's
facilities in
visit to
"The governor, like me, is a proponent of nuclear
energy. We believe
it may have an important role to
play in
Kottkamp said. "We must consider, as
we continue to grow as a state,
how we address our growing energy
needs while protecting that natural
beauty that draws so many people to the
Areva, which has
operations in at least 40 countries. In
early May, the company
announced plans for a uranium enrichment
facility in
Natural gas and coal are
three nuclear plants in three locations
in the state, operated by
Through 2004, nuclear energy plants collectively generated
about 15
percent of the state's energy, according
to US Department of Energy
statistics.
Kottkamp said he and the governor are
looking specifically at ways to
process nuclear waste in an environmentally
sensitive way.
He also made note of the energy bill working its way
through the
legislative process in
several executive orders Crist signed last summer that intend to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
increase energy efficiency, and
increase the use of renewable energy.
"Through our energy bill, we're looking at setting
benchmarks for
ethanol production in
you name it — multiple pieces of the
puzzle so we're not depending on
carbon," Kottkamp
said.