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NN Asks: Is the U.S. ready for nuclear construction to accelerate?
Craig Stover
Yes, but . . .
The United States is better positioned today for nuclear construction than it has been in decades. Some of that comes from the experience gained at Vogtle and V.C. Summer. I was part of the team that helped start the V.C. Summer project in 2008, and at that time we were trying to build a nuclear construction workforce from scratch. We learned a lot through that effort, and many of those lessons learned have since been studied, documented, and shared.
The nuclear industry is also benefiting from the wave of investment that started growing around 2020. Over the last five or six years, there has been a serious effort across the country to get ready for new nuclear builds. The U.S. government and the private sector are investing billions of dollars in new nuclear. Much of that work is happening before widespread commercial deployment contracts are signed. This is real, and we need to prepare.
E. James (Jim) Reinsch has had a distinguished, 40-year career in the field of nuclear power project management. He joined the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in 2002 and three years later he was elected president of the Society. Since he joined ANS, he has been part of the Education, Training and Workforce Development and Operations and Power Divisions.
He served as senior vice president and Partner of Bechtel Group, and he was the president of Bechtel Nuclear. He directed the company’s global nuclear operations for eight years, presiding over Bechtel Canada, he managed large regions in the U.S. and southwest Asia.
He is member of several international nuclear energy organizations, including the International Nuclear Academy, an honor society of the engineering and scientific community that fosters development and utilization of the peaceful application of nuclear energy in a safe and economic manner.
Reinsch serves on many Board of Directors including Ontario Power Generation Inc., NEI (he is also a member of their Executive Committee), Duke Energy Corporation, Frederick Memorial Hospital, and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. He is on the Board of Trustees for Hood College in Maryland.
Additionally, he is involved with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation Committee on Nuclear Power. Reinsch is a member of Rotary International.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Relations and Production from the University of Maryland.
Read Nuclear News from July 2005 for more on Jim.
