Energy development and energy independence are enormous issues our nation must continue to address aggressively. The economy will recover, growth will resume and energy deficiencies will, once again, be front and center as topics of major concern.

That's why it is heartening to see the Obama administration tackle energy issues head-on, with aggressive support for all forms of energy, including new nuclear plants, offshore oil and gas development, advanced biofuels, clean coal and renewable energy from wind and solar.

President Obama clearly understands that each of these energy sources must be promptly pursued and he singled out nuclear energy as key to meeting the nation's energy requirements. Our nation is enormously reliant on electricity, and demand will certainly grow as the transportation industry transitions to electric cars and electric public transit, and as the plethora of consumer electronic devices, from iPads, to smart phones, to big-screen TVs and data centers, grow exponentially in use.

Only nuclear energy can replace the immense base-load power requirements now supplied by coal-fired power plants. Nuclear plants must be a major part of the country's transition to clean energy, or major shortages will occur, with resulting damage to the economy.

Thus, in his Jan. 27 State of the Union address, President Obama called for "building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country" to create clean energy jobs, and boost energy production and efficiency.

He followed up his speech with real action by proposing in his 2011 budget up to $55 billion in federal loan guarantees to help jump-start construction of U.S. nuclear plants. He then announced, on Feb. 16, the first loan guarantee, amounting to $8.3 billion to help build two large reactors in Burke, Ga., the first new nuclear plant in our country in three decades. More loan guarantees will be announced in the future.

This is aggressive, positive action by the president and his administration. The Georgia plant will create thousands of high-paying construction jobs in the next few years, and some 800 clean, high-tech, family-supporting, permanent jobs.

The new generation of nuclear reactors is safer and more efficient than the older models. Technology is advancing rapidly with new types of reactors, including exciting "small nuke" breakthroughs, and improved waste disposal and reprocessing techniques.

The rest of the world is moving rapidly with nuclear power development. In his speech announcing the Georgia loan guarantees, President Obama noted that 56 nuclear reactors are under construction around the world, with many more being planned. In China alone 21 reactors are being built, along with six in South Korea and five in India. France already receives 80 percent of its electrical power from clean nuclear plants.

The one new plant in Georgia, the president noted, "will cut carbon pollution by 16 million tons each year when compared to a similar coal plant. That's like taking 3.5 million cars off the road."

It is important to remember that nuclear plants, while safe and clean, generate various types of waste that must be securely and properly disposed of. Without proper disposal, we simply can't have nuclear power. And there remains in this country a great deal of legacy radioactive waste from an era that was less environmentally sensitive than we are today.

EnergySolutions is the leading provider of safe and responsible nuclear waste management and disposal services to the nuclear industry, at all times safeguarding human health and the environment. Without the services of EnergySolutions, the great promise of nuclear energy will never be achieved.

Val Christensen is president and CEO of EnergySolutions, based in Salt Lake City. The company stores low-level radioactive nuclear waste in its facility at Clive.