Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The CEO of the nation's biggest nuclear power producer says Congress should get out of the way as the nation moves toward natural gas and other forms of clean energy.

John Rowe, CEO of Chicago-based Exelon, said that in trying to boost "clean" energy — wind, solar, nuclear and natural gas — Congress and states have enacted or proposed bills that would burden consumers, cripple markets and increase federal debt but do little to clean up the air.

In a speech to the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, Rowe said his message to lawmakers is simple: "I'm asking that Congress do nothing."

Rowe said utilities across the country are turning to "cheap" natural gas to generate electricity and do not need a clean energy standard proposed by President Barack Obama.