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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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Shifting the paradigm of supply chain
Chad Wolf
When I began my nuclear career, I was coached up in the nuclear energy culture of the day to “run silent, run deep,” a mindset rooted in the U.S. Navy’s submarine philosophy. That was the norm—until Fukushima.
The nuclear renaissance that many had envisioned hit a wall. The focus shifted from expansion to survival. Many utility communications efforts pivoted from silence to broadcast, showcasing nuclear energy’s elegance and reliability. Nevertheless, despite being clean baseload 24/7 power that delivered a 90 percent capacity factor or higher, nuclear energy was painted as risky and expensive (alongside energy policies and incentives that favored renewables).
Economics became a driving force threatening to shutter nuclear power. The Delivering the Nuclear Promise initiative launched in 2015 challenged the industry to sustain high performance yet cut costs by up to 30 percent.
Executive Session|Panel
Wednesday, June 15, 2022|10:15AM–12:00PM PDT|Pacific A
Session Chair:
Steve Nesbit
Session Organizer:
Andrew Coffman Smith (ANS)
In 2016 California made the political decision to prematurely shutter California's remaining nuclear power plant. Diablo Canyon's Units 1 and 2 are now slated for closure in 2024 and 2025 when their current operating licenses expire but, now, Gov. Gavin Newsom is reconsidering the move. This will be a paneled discussion on how Diablo Canyon fits into California's energy and climate strategies, as well as discuss the feasibility and the economic and environmental benefits and costs associated with California's dilemma on whether to keep the facility open beyond 2025 or prematurely close it. Along with discussing decarbonization, industrial process heat and desalination opportunities for Diablo Canyon, as outlined recently in a 2021 joint study by MIT and Stanford researchers, panelists will discuss how the future of Diablo Canyon is vital for California's clean energy security and in advancing the interests of labor, land conservation, and California's aboriginal tribal communities.
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