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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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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.
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
Ms. Rachel Jacobson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 15, 2022, and sworn in as the 17th Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army for Installations, Energy and Environment (ASA(IE&E)) on April 4, 2022.
As ASA (IE&E), she is the primary advisor to the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army for all matters related to Army installation policy and oversight, and coordination of energy security and management. In addition, she is responsible for policy and oversight of sustainability and environmental initiatives; resource management, including design, military construction, operations and maintenance; Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC); privatization of the Army real estate portfolio and installation Safety and Occupational Health programs.
Ms. Jacobson is an experienced environmental lawyer, having previously served at the Department of Defense during the Obama-Biden Administration as the Deputy General Counsel for Environment, Energy and Installations. Prior to joining DoD, Ms. Jacobson served as a political appointee at the Department of the Interior, first as Principal Deputy Solicitor and then as Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
Ms. Jacobson, who came to the Army position following five years in private practice at the law firm Wilmer Hale in Washington, D.C., spent the majority of her career as a trial lawyer and supervisor at the U.S. Department of Justice in the Environment and Natural Resources Division. She also ran a conservation program at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation before joining the Obama-Biden Administration.
Ms. Jacobson is a member of the bars of Illinois, D.C. and Massachusetts, and the American College of Environmental Lawyers. She received an undergraduate degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis, and a law degree from Boston University School of Law. A native of Chicago, Ms. Jacobson resides in Washington, D.C. ASA
Last modified November 6, 2024, 10:01am EST
