From across the aisle: Ranking committee member Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.) talked about appropriately funding the energy department. “You talk about the importance of nuclear power and small modular reactors,” she said. “Yet, in your budget that you’re proposing, you cut the Office of Nuclear Energy by $408 million. How are investors and companies supposed to have confidence in partnering with you when what you say and what your budget says are two different things?”
Wright’s perspective: “Our nuclear innovation as a nation . . . began with the Manhattan Project, and the next Manhattan Project is clearly AI,” Wright testified. “DOE has a significant role to play in driving AI innovation for scientific discovery and national security. Our agency has world-class, high-performance computing capabilities, including four of the world’s top 10 supercomputers. Harnessing our energy potential to power global AI leadership while meeting growing energy demand will be the challenge of our time—but America doesn't back down from big challenges or big builds.”
Taking on China: Sen. Katie Britt (R., Ala.) asked Wright about China’s fast-moving development of nuclear power, with at least 28 reactors under construction that account for about half of all nuclear reactors being built around the globe.
“It’s critical we look at this, particularly within the AI space,” Britt said. “Knowing that [it’s] not just an AI race, it is also an energy race—and we must win both. So, my question to you is: What are your plans?”
Wright agreed with Britt on the point with China, where they are developing nuclear power plants at an accelerated pace.
“They build a much cheaper and much faster [product because] they don’t have the giant bureaucratic regulator overhang we have in the United States,” he answered. “We have standards that are just so expensive to meet. It makes everything slow.”
The energy secretary said he’s hopeful that programs, such as the offer to let nuclear developers build on government-owned land, will spur new projects and expedite new nuclear power sources.
“The Loan Programs Office is a key tool,” Wright added. “We do need to make sure we have funding available in the Loan Programs Office, because used judiciously, it’s a way to leverage private capital to make things happen fast.”
Accelerating nuclear deployment: Sen. Bill Hagerty (R., Tenn.) thanked Wright for visiting his home state of Tennessee just days after his confirmation to see the “Manhattan Project 2.0” region that houses robust nuclear research, testing, and deployment.
Just this week, the Tennessee Valley Authority filed for a construction permit for the first SMR to be developed at the Clinch River site.
“As we explore SMR deployment at the Clinch River site, and through partnership with the Oak Ridge National Lab, I am very hopeful that Tennessee can become the catalyst for the United States’ nuclear energy resurgence,” Hagerty said.
