IT’S quite easy to “read between the lines” of someone’s letter when you haven’t read any lines of your own. I know there are many questions on the minds of the people of the CNMI, and I, and hopefully no-one else either, wants to be seen as trying to take advantage of the public or flapping lips to hear gums clack. That’s why I like to receive these questions — such as yours about why a thousand investors are not breaking down our doors over energy supply, particularly nuclear.
The reason thousands of investors with trillions of dollars are not breaking down our doors to supply a nuclear plant is because they cannot. The nuclear power industry is the most regulated industry in the world and very few companies are “in the business.” The same reference I gave a few days ago also talks about consolidation in the nuclear industry with as few as 5 to 7 companies left — and that is not due to dangers or expenses, but rather to expertise and regulation required.
These companies — not investors — don’t go breaking down ANYBODY’s doors. They are highly placed companies that usually require an intermediary through the U.S. government. You can’t just call them up on the phone either — they won’t talk to you.
However, I have been very fortunate in that, over the last year, I have been able to make contacts within the U.S. Department of Energy as high as the assistant secretary of Energy. These people have been quite accommodating and have put us into contact with four giant companies that are concentrating, at the behest of the DOE, on development of the newest and safest nuclear facilities. These are Westinghouse, General Atomics, Burns and Roe and Purple Mountain (commercialization licensee for Los Alamos National Labs).
These four companies and the DOE and a few other international “watchdog” agencies are my sources of information. I have over 1,000 pages of NEW information on this new technology and over 250 e-mails directly from their representatives — all of it SINCE mid-2006. Three of the above four companies and the DOE ARE extremely interested in talking with the proper representatives of the CNMI to determine IF such power plants are desirable for the CNMI. The DOE is willing to make the independent assessment. All WE need to do is MOVE on it. There ARE several progressive thinking legislators on Capital Hill who truly want to help and want to meet with these people to learn about it and determine if such an installation CAN be made and if it will help the CNMI.
DOE incentives are NOT there to “force” or coerce investment in nuclear facilities, but rather a far less sinister motive: simply to assist communities like ours, all over the U.S. And particularly it’s outlying states and territories where current utility costs are high, who are looking for a true solution and need help in doing so. Taxpayers foot the bill for incentives because the taxpayers reap the benefits of lower costs through better public utilities designed for a better, cleaner environment and a lower general cost of living. We should not be trying to kill this idea before we know what it really is based only on speculation. Everyone should be investigating every possible road to a better, cleaner, safer power supply — not just trying to cast unjust aspersions on someone else’s attempts through speculation and without the benefit of having educated themselves on current knowledge. When you do that, THEN you can make justified points for consideration by all.

DR. THOMAS D. ARKLE JR.
San Jose, Tinian