Abrajano, president and CEO of the United States Nuclear Industry Council, added, “This report offers support for the steps already taken and lays out measures to rejuvenate America’s nuclear energy sector, bringing bountiful supplies of clean, secure, homegrown energy, thousands of high-quality jobs, economic resilience, and global export opportunities. The opportunity is huge—but there is a need to act with urgency and decisiveness if we are to seize it.”
Key findings: The report includes the following eight key findings, which can be found in more detail online, along with more than 30 specific recommendations for achieving U.S. nuclear energy dominance:
- A strong domestic nuclear energy industry supports vital national security interests, as well as important strategic, technological, and economic interests.
- To establish nuclear energy dominance, the United States should deploy more nuclear reactors domestically and export them globally.
- Building and deploying nuclear reactors and manufacturing nuclear fuel are complex and expensive undertakings that the private sector cannot accomplish without strong government policy support, especially if the United States is to reach President Trump’s goal of 400 GW in domestic nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
- Expediting licensing and permitting is necessary. New pathways must be compatible with existing processes to ensure that project developers have full access to markets and that existing licensing work is not disrupted.
- A secure, reliable, and affordable supply of nuclear fuel and better overall management of the nuclear fuel cycle are crucial for domestic reactor deployment and foreign sales.
- The federal government should pursue “a structured, whole-of-government approach” to promoting nuclear energy dominance.
- Inadequate staffing at government agencies that regulate and support nuclear energy will prevent U.S. nuclear energy dominance. Uncoordinated executive branch implementation of supportive policy and regulatory reforms could also thwart U.S. goals.
- Achieving nuclear energy dominance will require a larger workforce, including nuclear, mechanical, and electrical engineers; skilled construction workers; and trained reactor and fuel manufacturing plant operators.
Working group: In addition to Abrajano, the group consists of senior leaders from the energy, policy, financial, legal, academic, and technical sectors. Codirectors are Paul J. Saunders, president of the Center for the National Interest, and Samuel Thernstrom, CEO of the Energy Innovation Reform Project.
Other members come from AR Griffith & Associates, the Atlantic Council, Capital City Ventures, ClearPath, ConservAmerica, Covington & Burling, Curio, Idaho National Laboratory, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Oklo, and the U.S.-Japan Energy Institute.
Next up: Abrajano will lead a panel discussion on the findings and recommendations of the report on Wednesday, August 27, at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. More information about the meeting can be obtained by emailing Nathalie Stepherson, director of operations at Full On Communications.
The new report “How America Can Achieve Nuclear Energy Dominance,” from the Working Group on U.S. Nuclear Energy Dominance, outlines a plan of action for the Trump administration that includes deploying new nuclear reactors, developing domestic supply chains, promoting nuclear exports, reforming regulations, and developing the workforce.
