You have always been opposed to subsidies, yet you strongly support more deployment of nuclear power. What opportunities exist to assist nuclear power aside from increasing subsidies?

A climate cap-trade policy will create a natural incentive for expansion of nuclear power. Economic modeling from [the Energy Information Administration] for estimates of bills with similar targets and timetables as the McCain climate plan project that an annual average of up to 5 new nuclear plants would be built every year from 2012-2030 (the extent of the model's ability to look forward) because of the zero GHG emissions such plants provide. There are appropriate steps for government to take to clear the roadblocks and streamline industry's ability to respond to the new market demand that will be created.

• John McCain has supported loan guarantees for the construction of new plants and a program to assist with the first-of-its-kind engineering needs.
• Sen. McCain will continue to review the industry needs to determine other areas in which he can lend support to ensure that we bring online new generational capacity -- including measures to further encourage investor confidence through improved safety, expanded manufacturing base, and waste disposal solutions.
• John McCain's plan would call for the funds used to support these efforts for further deployment of nuclear technologies to come from the auction proceeds and not taxpayer's dollars.

On a press conference call yesterday evening, McCain's senior policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin fielded a question about the contradiction inherent in a policy that supports this much assistance for only one "carbon-free" energy source. Holtz-Eakin maintained that McCain's plan wouldn't create financial subsidies (despite that fact that, in practice, it would), and said it's not about "picking winners." On nuclear power, he said, "[McCain's] view on it is not that they need additional financial subsidies, but that they need clear political support."

As for support for other, renewable energy sources, "he would want to make sure that at this point in time we did not prevent wind and solar from progressing," said Holtz-Eakin.