The Mix: Interview with Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)

energyNOW! recently interviewed U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, on several national energy policy issues.

Bingaman said last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill has resulted in several lingering effects for the U.S. offshore drilling industry. The impact has been that the U.S. is still trying to ensure that necessary safety requirements and precautions are in place to ensure deep water drilling is safe. While several new permits have been issued, many applications are still pending and both the industry and government has had to reassess the risks involved.

Several senators are frustrated that the pace of new offshore leases has not moved more quickly, but the Obama Administration would be responsible for any new oil spill and is erring on the side of caution. Bingaman’s general view is that the administration has proceeded in a responsible way.

Bingaman isn’t sure if Japan’s nuclear crisis will have a negative effect on U.S. nuclear development, but before any applications to build new power plants are approved, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have to consider lessons learned from Japan. He thinks nuclear power will be a significant part of our energy future, and nuclear power plants can be designed and built in a reliable, safe way.

Bingaman is leading a bi-partisan effort with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to develop consensus on a national clean energy standard, but isn’t sure if agreement can be reached. He thinks many stakeholders embrace President Obama’s general goal of deriving 80 percent of U.S. energy from clean generation sources by 2035, but opinions diverge when it comes to the details of how that goal will be reached.

Bingaman isn’t sure what the future of spent nuclear fuel disposal is for America. Even though funding for Yucca Mountain was removed from this year’s federal budget, he thinks the question of where the nation’s spent fuel should be stored is a scientific question and shouldn’t be resolved until the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission issues their scientific report on the topic this summer.