The 5-day India
visit by a U.S. Commercial Nuclear Mission sponsored by the US-India
Business Council in cooperation with the Nuclear Energy Institute, concluded
on January 16 in Mumbai, India. In his concluding speech, U.S. Consul
General Paul A. Folmsbee described the historic Indo-US civilian nuclear
energy agreement as one of the great legacies of the Bush Administration.
Following are excerpts from Folmsbee's address.
"Thank you for joining us today on the "rubber meets the road"
part of the historic civil nuclear agreement between India and the United
States. India's inclusion under the global nuclear umbrella is a historic
step, one that resulted from a lot of hard work and honest dialogue
between not just Indians and Americans, but concerned and responsible
partners around the world. For the United States, this historic agreement
will be one of the great legacies of the Bush Administration.
At the cusp of a transition in our White House and our Congress, we
know that curbing climate change, perfecting clean energy technologies,
and providing for the next generation's energy needs in a responsible,
safe, environmentally friendly way is a top priority. We know this is
a priority for India's government, industry, and people as well. So
it will be a key part of the United States-India partnership.
That is why we are delighted that our civil nuclear industry leaders
are here in India this week, and that they will be sharing information
about the products, technologies, and services that have served our
country well. Obviously, each plant built in India will have a significant
India component, from parts and technology to engineering and labor.
The enthusiasm of Indian companies for nuclear commerce partnerships
is evidence of this huge potential. So we think that our two countries
make excellent partners in the nuclear energy field.
Many of you already know about U.S. leadership in the nuclear power
field.
• The
U.S. has a world class nuclear industry - 27 percent power is generated
through clean nuclear technology.
• When
our companies compete for these contracts, they will be successful because
they offer the best technology and reliability.
• The
U.S. welcomes competition, because we feel our products stand on their
merits.
• The
U.S. Civil Nuclear Energy Industry is the world leader in engineering
and has been active in upgrading plants and expanding capacity in existing
plants in the United States, as well as building new plants and capacities
in East Asia and Europe.
• U.S.
nuclear reactors have the world's highest average efficiency rate at
91%
• The
United States today obtains 19.4 percent of its total generated electricity
from clean nuclear power.
• The
United States ranks number one worldwide in terms of:
o Total number of operating nuclear reactor units
o (24 percent of world total --104 in US out of 439
worldwide)
total nuclear power capacity in Megawatts
o (27 percent of world total - 100,582 MW in US out
of 372,100 MW worldwide)
o Total amount of electricity generated by nuclear
power annually
(31 percent of world total; 806.5 Billion of kilowatt-hours Bkwh out
of 2,608 Bkwh worldwide).
All of this spells good news for both our countries. I congratulate
all those who have worked so hard to bring us to this point, and who
will take us forward from here in the development of India's civil nuclear
industry.
Thank you."