Letter from the CEOThe U.S. nuclear supply chain: Time to start the climbANS NewsAugust 12, 2020, 4:30PM|Craig PiercyCraig PiercyOriginally published in the August 2020 issue of Nuclear News.Dear reader:Let’s face it. The U.S. nuclear manufacturing and supply chain is not what it once was. In the 1960s and ’70s, America was the dominant player in the global nuclear industry. Under the auspices of Atoms for Peace, U.S. companies successfully provided reactor systems and associated services to countries across the world and held significant sway over the course of future nuclear development in the international arena. America was at the top of its nuclear game.Then came a series of rogue waves. Cost overruns, India’s “peaceful” nuclear explosion, Three Mile Island, public opposition, increasing international competition, advancements in wind and solar technology, cheap natural gas, paralysis in nuclear waste policy—take your pick: all have conspired to fundamentally harm the vitality of our nuclear “Team USA.”Today, the U.S. sector is clearly much smaller as a result; you need only look at the decreasing thickness of recent Nuclear News vendor/contractor profile issues for confirmation. Buffeted by utility cost-cutting domestically, well-funded state-owned competitors internationally, and now a global pandemic and widespread economic disruption, many U.S. suppliers are holding on for dear life.But there is light on the horizon. Almost every major U.S. utility has publicly pledged to aggressively decarbonize their generation portfolios between now and 2050. In the aggregate, those pledges, if honored, would reduce carbon emissions by nearly 90 percent from current levels! From today forward, any utility or state government thinking about closing an existing nuclear plant must face not only the technical feasibility of doing so in a reliable and affordable way, but also the stark climate math of making good on public promises.There is similar cause for optimism on the nuclear technology front. Advanced reactor designs are making headway through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing process as I write, raising the chances of real domestic commercialization activity in the latter half of the 2020s. While the supply chains for these systems remain somewhat aspirational for the moment, the idea that public investment can “preheat” the U.S. nuclear manufacturing sector is getting greater recognition in the halls of the Department of Energy and Congress.Ultimately, as members of a U.S.-based professional society devoted to applied nuclear science and technology and the men and women who advance it, we have a unique responsibility to ensure that the public and its elected leaders see a reinvigorated nuclear manufacturing sector as absolutely essential to the nation’s ability to tackle climate change. Put simply, and with apologies to the screenwriter of Field of Dreams: “If we can’t build it, they won’t come.”So here’s wishing for thicker vendor/contractor profile issues in the years ahead.—Craig Piercy, ExecutiveDirector/CEOTags:ans leadershipcraig piercysupply chainShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Don't forget to vote!The 2021 ANS Election is open. This is your chance to help shape the future of your Society.All ANS members were sent an email on February 22 with a unique username and password from Survey & Ballot Systems (SBS). If you did not receive this email or you do not have your election login information, please go to directvote.net/ANS, enter your email address that is on file with ANS, and your election login information will be emailed to you.Go to Article
ANS touts benefits of nuclear energy in letter to FERCThe American Nuclear Society recommended that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) consider recognizing the reliability and resiliency benefits that carbon-free nuclear electricity generation provides to the bulk power system. ANS President Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar and Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy submitted these comments in a letter during a FERC meeting on Thursday morning.Go to Article
Candidates for Young Member seat on ANS Board offer statementsThis is the fourth in a four-part series spotlighting the candidates for the upcoming 2021 ANS national election. Seven leadership positions are on the ballot.Today we feature statements from the nominees for the Young Member director position, which was approved by the ANS Board of Directors in September.The nominees are Benjamin A. Holtzman, of the Nuclear Energy Institute, an ANS member since 2007, and Catherine M. Prat, of Westinghouse Electric Company, an ANS member since 2011.Ballots will be sent electronically on February 22 and must be submitted by 4 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, April 6.Go to Article
Candidates for ANS Board of Directors offer statementsThis is the third in a four-part series spotlighting the candidates for the upcoming 2021 ANS national election. Seven leadership positions are on the ballot.Today we feature statements from the nominees for the U.S. director at-large positions. There are 10 candidates for four open spots on the ANS Board of Directors. The nominees are Harsh Desai, Nuclear Energy Institute; Julie G. Ezold, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Jess C. Gehin, Idaho National Laboratory; Kathryn D. Huff, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jeffrey C. King, Colorado School of Mines; Stephen P. LaMont, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Jean-Francois Lucchini, Los Alamos National Laboratory; John M. Mahoney, High Expectations International; Jessika V. Rojas, Virginia Commonwealth University; and Tracy E. Stover Jr., Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.Ballots will be sent electronically on February 22 and must be submitted by 4 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, April 6.Go to Article
ANS Task Force: Accelerating nuclear R&D investment is key to securing America’s clean energy futureThe ANS Task Force on Public Investment in Nuclear Research and Development has just issued a report titled “The U.S. Nuclear R&D Imperative.” Visit ans.org/policy/rndreport/ to learn more and to read the report in its entirety.The following article, originally published in the February 2021 issue of Nuclear News, describes the formation of the Task Force and the principles that guided its members as they developed specific nuclear R&D funding recommendations to ensure that a new generation of nuclear energy technologies is ready for deployment in 2030 and beyond.Go to Article
Klann, Wharton offer candidate statements for ANS treasurerThis is the second in a four-part series spotlighting the candidates for the upcoming 2021 ANS national election. Seven leadership positions are on the ballot.Today we feature statements from the nominees for treasurer.The nominees are Ray Klann, an ANS member since 1991, who is a senior scientist in the National Security Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; and W. A. “Art” Wharton III, an ANS member since 2004, who is a vice president at Studsvik Scandpower. Wharton, the current ANS treasurer, is running for a second term.Ballots will be sent electronically on February 22 and must be submitted by 4 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, April 6.Go to Article
Candidates for ANS vice president offer statementsToday we feature statements from the nominees for vice president/president-elect. The nominees are Steven A. Arndt, an ANS Fellow and member since 1981, who is a senior technical advisor with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and Corey McDaniel, an ANS member since 2008, who is chief commercial officer at Idaho National Laboratory.Ballots will be sent electronically on February 22 and must be submitted by 4 pm (ET) on Tuesday, April 6.The first-ever ANS vice president candidate discussion forum will be held Wednesday, Feb. 17 from 6:00-7:00 pm EST. Register now for the event to hear directly from candidates Steven Arndt and Corey McDaniel.Go to Article
The new normal?Mary Lou Dunzik-GougarHappy New Year! I sincerely hope that each of you found time to refresh and rejuvenate over the holidays, or at least have fun. Many indicators suggest that 2021 will be a better year than 2020, including a growing understanding of COVID-19 and its impacts and the availability of a vaccine. So many have suffered from job loss or even loss of businesses in 2020. Even for those of us fortunate enough to be healthy, gainfully employed, and able to work from anywhere thanks to Zoom and its competitors, uncertainty is still a challenging aspect of the pandemic.Go to Article
ANS signs agreement with Spanish Nuclear SocietyThe American Nuclear Society and Sociedad Nuclear Española (SNE) on December 10 signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) that creates a partnership between the two societies to cooperate in promoting the development of nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes.Go to Article
Statement from ANS President Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar on Barakah Nuclear Energy PlantANS congratulates the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. on bringing the first Barakah reactor to full operational capacity.Go to Article