New report outlines steps towards U.S. nuclear “energy dominance”

WASHINGTON, DC — Nuclear energy is being pushed by the Donald Trump administration, but the effort needs a strong workforce and policy behind it, authors of a new report said here Wednesday. 

The working group held a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.  to discuss the report “How America Can Achieve Nuclear Energy Dominance”.

While new reactor technology and reduced regulatory hoops are important, fuel availability and a sufficient workforce are just as valuable in nuclear growth, said Bradley Williams. Williams is a senior policy adviser and lead for energy policy and strategic analysis at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. 

Williams said nuclear agencies are being tasked with a lot of work but have been operating with fewer staff members. An increased nuclear workforce and coordination between government agencies would be ideal in maximizing the nuclear push, Williams suggested.

Williams said proper execution on the current nuclear push is imperative. Nuclear energy has bipartisan support currently in Congress, a situation that should not be squandered, he added.

 “If we get this right, [then] we will reestablish U.S. leadership in dominance in nuclear energy,” Williams said. “If we don’t get it right, then this might be our last shot.”

In the working group’s August report, the group suggests nuclear momentum is ample among the industry but clear governmental policy support is still needed.

The DOE Loan Program Office for new nuclear builds will be crucial as private nuclear companies start nuclear projects, said working group chair Todd Abrajano. Abrajano is U.S. Nuclear Industry Council president and CEO. Loans will be needed for the first of a kind deployments. 

Abrajano added that a policy for risk insurance to help absorb the costs in domestic deployment will be needed too.

“In order to really move that money from those banks into the industry at a much more rapid pace, we have to look into figuring out how to reduce that risk for those investors as much as possible,” Abrajano said. “Risk insurance is incredibly important as we move forward.”