USEA Virtual Press Briefing: Is a New Golden Age for Nuclear Power Dawning?

Video recording of the session at the bottom of this post, along with open Q&A discussion from the session taking place actively on the Energy Central Community:

There was already a feeling in the nuclear power industry that a great leap in the fortunes of the industry was at hand. But President Donald Trump has escalated those hopes with four executive orders.

Trump seeks to cut the time it takes to get a reactor license to a short 18 months. He is calling for the construction of 10 large reactors of the type now in use. And he is endorsing everything along the nuclear power chain, from uranium mining to waste disposal to the deployment of small modular reactors.

In all, the president wants to quadruple nuclear power production by 2050.

It is exciting. It is breathtaking. It is dramatic. It is needed.

But is it feasible?

Definitely some new reactors are likely to be built, driven by the big tech companies that are desperate for the power for their data centers and prepared to use some of their wealth to that end. Witness Microsoft’s commitment to restarting the undamaged reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, and Meta’s commitment to extend the life of the Clinton Plant in Illinois by 20 years.

The question is whether the big techs go all the way and change the landscape by commissioning new-build nuclear plants. Also, will the administration provide “backstop” guarantees for first-of-a-kind new plants, especially SMRs?

The United States Energy Association’s virtual press briefing, set for Wednesday, June 11, at 11 a.m. EDT, will examine the new golden age of nuclear power when senior reporters who cover energy will question nuclear power experts in a collegial atmosphere.

These briefings, which are broadcast live on Zoom, are open to the press and the public. They are free, but registration is required.

Following the briefings, a recording is available on the USEA website usea.org and the Energy Central website energycentral.com. Also, recordings can be found on Apple and Spotify.

The briefings are organized and moderated by Llewellyn King in collaboration with USEA President and CEO Mark Menezes.

On the June 11 expert panel:

• James Schaefer, Guggenheim Partners

• Scott Hunnewell, VP of New Nuclear, TVA

• Cyril Draffin, Senior Fellow for Advanced Nuclear, USNIC

• Shanthi Muthiah, Managing Director and Senior VP, ICF

• James Walker, CEO, NANO Nuclear

• Steve Chengelis, VP, Energy Supply and Nuclear Development, EPRI

• Benton Arnett, Senior Director of Markets and Policy, NEI

The reporter panel:

• Matthew Daly, The Associated Press

• Jennifer Hiller, The Wall Street Journal

• Tim Gardner, Reuters

• Matt Chester, Energy Central

• William Freebairn, S&P Global

• Markham Hislop, Energi (Canada)

Ongoing Q&As Taking Place Post Session on EnergyCentral.com:

• Is it realistic to expect high capacity factors in early years of operation of a new nuclear plant?

• From a reliability and resiliency perspective, should we ever build at giga-watt nuclear reactor again?

• For microreactors, which need to be manufactured in a factory, do we need more collaboration to promote standardization and to share resources and minimize duplication?

• What needs to be done on the nuclear fuel backend to give the public confidence that new nuclear isn't creating more issues with nuclear waste?

• How do the nuclear workforce requirements compare with where they were in the 1960s and 1970s? Are they more stringent?

• Co-location for nuclear generators is necessary, we don't need to have reactor sites producing only electricity when nuclear reactors also produce neutrons and heat. We need to look at overall energy system efficiency. Do you agree?