Public Policy & Engagement

The United States and Saudi Arabia have reached a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that could allow the Middle Eastern country to enrich uranium to fuel nuclear reactors and provide the U.S. nuclear industry a new commercial market.

On Tuesday evening, the Wall Street Journal first reported that the two sides had reached an agreement with a term of 30 years. Then, Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that he and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman had signed the agreement alongside an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement.

As states around the country continue to develop new methods of collaboration with local governments to facilitate and expedite new nuclear deployment, Indiana recently unveiled a plan of its own: the new Indiana Advanced Nuclear Ready Communities Program.

The Indiana Office of Energy Development (OED), which leads the program, describes it as a “first-of-its-kind state designation system” that formally recognizes communities that have taken measurable steps to prepare for new nuclear deployment.

On July 13, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed the Power NJ Act, a bill that directs the state’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU), in collaboration with the state’s Economic Development Authority, to establish an “advanced nuclear energy procurement program.”