WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) made the following comments today after the TVA’s Board of Directors approved the submission of an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a Combined Construction and Operating License for Bellefonte Nuclear Plant near Scottsboro, Alabama:

“I am pleased that TVA’s Board of Directors voted today to move forward with the NRC’s application process for two new reactors at the Bellefonte site near Scottsboro.

“We, as a nation, must dedicate ourselves to a long term transition to utilizing more nuclear power. Nuclear power is our best source of clean, safe, and reliable energy, and it can be produced here at home without any further reliance on foreign sources of energy. Increasing our ability to generate nuclear power is a critical step to providing the Valley with the affordable base load power that its growing economy will require.

“Today’s vote is a significant step toward utilizing the $4.5 billion investment that TVA made at Bellefonte in the 1980s. Putting Bellefonte to good use for ratepayers has been a priority of mine since I came to the Senate, and I applaud the Board for supporting this application.”