Reader Opinion: Leading the way on a new generation of nuclear power

By United Coalition for Advanced Nuclear Power 

On Aug. 2, 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein, warning of a transformative technology being developed by a formidable adversary — one that could alter the course of history. 

Roosevelt acted swiftly, establishing a government Advisory Committee on Uranium, ultimately resulting in the Manhattan Project. This decisive action secured United States and allied leadership in nuclear technology, a force with the power to either devastate or bring light to the world.

For almost 70 years, the U.S. harnessed nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and collaborated globally to prevent nuclear conflict. 

Unfortunately, over the last three decades, we have relinquished global leadership in the development of new nuclear power capabilities to Russia and increasingly China. 

We became reliant on Russian fuel as  China leads in the construction of nuclear power plants as part of a coercive energy policy in developing countries. As a result, the resurgence in global interest for safe, affordable nuclear power plants also has become a focus area for global U.S. national security interests. Even more urgent for the U.S. is generating enough power in the near term to keep electricity flowing domestically.

The latest report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is clear: “Trends point to critical reliability challenges facing the industry: satisfying escalating energy growth, managing generator retirements, and accelerating resource and transmission development.” 

Given the rapidly expanding gap between electricity demand and the development of new generation, new nuclear capacity is now front and center for buyers needing large amounts of reliable, resilient power. Both manufacturers and digital technology developers are clamoring to open up retired reactors, extend the operations of others, and finance new development of nuclear power “behind the meter.” 

Standing in the way of the resurgence of nuclear power to meet the nation’s urgent demand growth  is the combination of public awareness, first-mover risk, regulatory bureaucracy, atrophied domestic supply chains and workforce, and extended timelines for deployment. 

Now is the time to bring the force of the federal government together in a partnership with the private sector to mount a campaign to address these challenges with actions that will result in the accelerated deployment of advanced reactors to meet the electricity reliability needs for national security, economic prosperity, and citizen safety.

A recently formed non-profit entity, the United Coalition for Advanced Nuclear Power (UCAN Power), is working with other associations in the nuclear energy industry to drive actions, starting with the development of a national federal strategy to align the efforts of numerous federal agencies towards a common set of goals to tackle these challenges. 

UCAN Power has prioritized the Department of Defense as a first mover, supporting programs to provide assured energy for critical national security assets domestically, while also retaining access to electricity in contingencies with contested logistics around the world. 

UCAN Power’s founders (many of whom are now in or nominated for leadership positions in the Donald Trump Administration) also led the drafting of a Presidential Executive Order with the coordination of other associations to offer a comprehensive list of actions and initiatives to the Whites House to unify the activities of federal agencies toward firm timelines and milestones in concert with the nuclear industry. 

Combined with other actions to raise public awareness of the work of the Department of Energy laboratories, starting with Idaho National Lab, and the contributions of industry thought-leaders, UCAN Power is adding its expertise and resources to drive adoption and acceleration of the deployment of a new generation of advanced reactors. If you want to know more, or contribute time to the work of this non-profit, please contact [email protected].