Washington (Platts)--29Jan2010/610 am EST/1110 GMT

US President Barack Obama's endorsement of nuclear power in his State of the Union address Wednesday generated predictable responses from the nuclear power industry and advocacy groups.

Obama said in his speech to a joint session of Congress that part of the creation of "clean energy jobs" in the US "means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants."

Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Marvin Fertel said Obama's "recognition of nuclear energy as a vital component of a diversified energy strategy of our nation is well-warranted and greatly appreciated." In his statement, Fertel called nuclear energy a "common-sense solution to our nation's economic and environmental challenges."

Areva, which plans to supply its evolutionary power reactors to the US market, said it "welcomes President Obama's position on nuclear energy that will encourage construction of new nuclear facilities."

FPL Group Chairman Lew Hay said his company, which operates wind farms and nuclear power plants, welcomed Obama's support for nuclear and renewable energy. "As a nation, we need to adopt a 'no regrets' policy on energy and climate legislation," he said in a statement.

But the anti-nuclear group Beyond Nuclear called Obama's remarks "an apparent farewell to the environmental movement" and to many of his supporters. It said Obama called for "the three pillars of pollution" to address US energy needs. "How he can see oil, coal and nuclear as compatible with climate change legislation is breathtaking," Beyond Nuclear media director Linda Gunter said in the statement.

In addition to more power reactors, Obama also said "tough decisions" would have to be made about opening new areas for offshore drilling for oil and natural gas and that he wanted to see continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies.

He added that a comprehensive energy and climate bill should be passed that includes "incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America."

--Elaine Hiruo, elaine_hiruo@platts.com

--William Freebairn, william_freebairn@platts.com