This would have a positive impact on American jobs in addition to reducing carbon footprint, the White House said yesterday.
“We already know that Westinghouse, a fine American business, has committed to building four nuclear plants in China. I think that’s a pretty clear example of how the world’s commitment to a low-carbon future has a positive economic impact in the US,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.
“The same is true of other US companies like General Electric that now have essentially a global market for renewable energy,” he said.
Earnest claimed that there had been a dramatic growth in renewable energy because of some policy decisions that US President Barack Obama has made.
“Since President Obama took office, we’ve seen that wind energy has tripled and the amount of energy that is produced from solar has increased thirtyfold since President Obama took office. That is a result of investments that were made early on,” he said.
Noting that the ‘Recovery Act’ included the largest-ever investment in renewable energy, Earnest said it’s already starting to pay dividends, both in terms of reducing carbon footprint and for business opportunities that are good not just for broader economic growth but also for good job creation.
“So you’ve got Westinghouse that’s building nuclear plants in China because China is looking for ways that they can reduce their carbon footprint. That’s good for economic growth back here in the United States because that’s a good American company,” he said.
“But we have also seen a wide variety of American companies building wind turbines and installing solar panels, which has the same positive economic impact on this country too,” he said.
Founded in 1999, Westinghouse offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation, control and design of nuclear power plants.
PTI