"WASHINGTON -- U.S. lawmakers on Thursday sought to increase incentives for nuclear power and energy efficiency in a measure that would require utilities to generate a certain amount of electricity from renewable sources.

Nuclear power is not currently considered a renewable electricity source in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee bill. Under the bill, a percentage of utilities' total power production would have to be dedicated to renewables.

The committee adopted an amendment offered by Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski that excluded any increases in capacity at existing nuclear power plants and new nuclear plants from measures of utilities' total production for the renewable electricity standard.

By not counting nuclear upgrades within utilities' overall electricity output, the amendment effectively allows power plants to increase energy production without also increasing the amount of renewable power those plants must generate."

Ayesha Rascoe reports for Reuters June 4, 2009. [2]