Chu: Congress should consider nuclear in mandate

WASHINGTON (AP):

The Obama administration's energy chief asked Congress Tuesday to consider nuclear power and other non-renewable sources in a mandate for utilities to use more clean energy, which could attract Republicans who've opposed focusing exclusively on renewable energy like wind.

Efforts to pass the 'renewable electricity standard' requirement have stalled in Congress, in part because of regional resistance. Opponents in the Southeast, for example, argue that their region lacks renewable sources such as abundant levels of wind.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said his call was an acknowledgment of those differences.

"There's all sorts of other forms of clean energy," he told reporters. "Some states would favour something in terms of clean energy like nuclear."

Chu said a clean energy standard, which has been pushed by the nuclear industry, could include clean coal and nuclear along with renewables. A clean energy mandate is just one of several proposals the Obama administration and Congress should look at to curb carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming, he said.

With the death of legislation to cap carbon emissions, the administration is considering other ways to reduce them. Following sweeping GOP gains in the mid-term elections, President Barack Obama said cap-and-trade "was just one way of skinning the cat. It was not the only way."