Reps. Proos, Schuitmaker, Accavitti, Byrnes, Caul, Elsenheimer, Espinoza, Garfield, Gonzales, Gosselin, Hansen, Hildenbrand, Huizenga, Jones, Kooiman, Lemmons, Jr., Lipsey, Meyer, Mortimer, Newell, Plakas, Polidori, Robertson, Shaffer, Taub, Vander Veen, Wojno, Brandenburg, Casperson, Clemente, Kehrl, Lemmons, III, Moore, Nitz, Pavlov and Spade offered the following concurrent resolution:

            House Concurrent Resolution No. 9.

            A concurrent resolution to urge the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the operating license of the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant.

            Whereas, The D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant is in the process of renewing its operating license. The Cook Nuclear Plant has been generating electricity safely, reliably, and efficiently at its facilities in Bridgman, Michigan, since 1975 under two operating licenses issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. These licenses will expire in 2014 and 2017; and

            Whereas, The Cook Nuclear Plant is a key electric load-serving entity for American Electric Power (AEP), a major energy provider in the Midwest and the nation. The Cook Nuclear Plant generates 2,130 megawatts of electricity, which is enough electricity to meet the industrial, commercial, and residential needs of a city with 1.25 million people. The Cook Nuclear Plant generates electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and

Whereas, The performance of nuclear units in the United States has steadily improved. Since 1997, AEP has invested over a billion dollars to ensure that the Cook Nuclear Plant continues to generate electricity safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively; and

            Whereas, It is extremely important to the citizens of Southwest Michigan, the Midwest, and the nation that the D.C. Cook Nuclear Plant continue to operate and generate electricity. The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that electricity demand will increase almost 50 percent over the next 20 years. Nuclear power, which provides about 20 percent of the electricity our nation consumes, is the second-largest source of electricity and is an important component of the national fuel mix. With the EIA expecting no new nuclear power plants to be constructed in the next 20 years, the Cook Nuclear Plant provides electric generation that is clearly central to the future of our state and the nation; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That we urge the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the operating license of the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.