Promise, obstacles and hope for new nuclear’s role in decarbonisation

Abstract

The next wave of nuclear energy technology has the potential to facilitate deep decarbonisation. Presentations and discussions from a recent conference explored barriers and pathways to realisation of this potential. The areas addressed included economics, government support, equity, regulatory clarity, supply chain security, and appeal to environmental, social, governance (ESG) investors, as briefly summarised herein.

Keywords:

• nuclear generation
• decarbonisation
• advance nuclear technology
• Investable Nuclear Energy conference

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Daniel F Stenger, Partner, Hogan Lovells LLP; CE (Gene) Carpenter, PhD, Lead Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton; and R (Budd) Haemer, Professorial Lecturer at Law, The George Washington University Law School, for their review and comments. The author takes responsibility for any inaccuracies.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 ‘Announcement of the Atomic Age’ The George Washington University historical marker, Corcoran Hall, 725 21st St NW, Washington DC; Larry Brown, Teaching Students, the Future Workforce, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 12 May 2022) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpDkgBobHOk&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=14> Accessed 31 July 2022

2 Oren A. Wasson, ‘Conference Reports: Conference on Fifty Years with Nuclear Fission Washington, DC and Gaithersburg, MD Apr 25–28, 1989’ (1990 Mar–Apr) 95(2) J Res Natl Inst Stand Technol 183 <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4930046/> Accessed 31 July 2022

3 Ibid

4 Brown (n 1)

5 Ibid

6 See Lisa Thiele, Regulating Uranium Production: Environmental Stewardship, Indigenous Consultation, Transparency, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 9 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNgwrLaPU2A> Accessed 31 July 2022; Nima Ashkeboussi, Where We Are Today, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 9 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj091svD4bY&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=3> Accessed 31 July 2022

7 Stephen G Burns, Closing Remarks, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington, DC, 12 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_KKnD6nOl0&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=16> Accessed 31 July 2022; see also Dwight D. Eisenhower, ‘Atoms for Peace’, before the United Nations (18 December 1953) (calling for peaceful uses and an international regulatory agency for nuclear) <www.atomicheritage.org/key-documents/eisenhowers-atoms-peace-speech#:~:text=Eisenhower%20before%20the%20United%20Nations,or%20%22Atoms%20for%20Peace.%22> Accessed 31 July 2022

8 Kimberly Nick, Teaching Students, the Future Workforce, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 12 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpDkgBobHOk&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=14> Accessed 31 July 2022 (citing the ‘IAEA’s “3 S-plus approach”’ as an integral part of the nuclear law curriculum, but which must be taught holistically)

9 Dr Kathryn Huff, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, US Department of Energy, Day 2 Keynote Address, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (10 May 2022)

10 Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington, DC, 9–12 May 2022). Most sessions can be viewed at <https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a> Accessed 31 July 2022

11 Huff (n 9); ‘A Clear Consensus: Nuclear Energy Must Be Part of Any Climate Solution, Nuclear Enterprise Institute Fact Sheet’ (2019) <https://www.nei.org/resources/fact-sheets/clear-consensus-nuclear-must-climate-solution> Accessed 31 July 2022

12 Dr Steven Arndt, New Technology, Old Problems: The Need to Take a Fresh Look at Nuclear Policy and Regulation, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 10 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=beftfvoiR_E&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=7> Accessed 31 July 2022

13 Craighton Goepple, Supply Chain of the Future, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 10 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPTtGfhWO5M&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=5> Accessed 31 July 2022 (discussing TerraPower’s Natrium Reactor which uses storage to flex from 350 MWe to 500 MWe for 5.5 h when needed)

14 Arndt (n 12)

15 Dr Benjamin Cross, Paradigm Shift Needed for How Energy Is Produced & Utilized, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 10 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHVMoIZ-zVE&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=6> Accessed 31 July 2022 (discussing ‘Industrial Energy System – Closed Loop Manufacturing (IES-CLM)’)

16 Dr Robert Ledoux, Supply Chain of the Future, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 10 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPTtGfhWO5M&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=5> Accessed 31 July 2022

17 Anthony Huston, Giulio Gennaro, New Nuclear at Sea: Trillion USD Economic Disruption Opportunity in the Marine Sector, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 10 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJZP2BZY0fQ&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=9> Accessed 31 July 2022. Investigation is on-going for uses of nuclear energy in space, for example on the dark side of the moon or in asteroid mining, where it could be uniquely suitable. Workshop report delivered at Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 11 May 2022)

18 See eg Goepple (n 13) (to reduce costs, plant design separates energy island from nuclear island, which must meet stricter, expensive requirements)

19 Hon Jeffrey S Merrifield, Closing Remarks: Day 3, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC. 11 May 2022) <https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/1xCLGGHVmCBdMFOXuiyyLZDO3fV8bVzzX> Accessed 31 July 2022

20 Shawn Begaye, Guidance for Moving Forward, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 9 May 2022); Nuclear Industry Jobs Fact Sheet, Nuclear Enterprise Institute (2019) <www.nei.org/resources/fact-sheets/nuclear-industry-jobs> Accessed 31 July 2022 (salaries 20% higher on average than for other electric sources)

21 The Chernobyl disaster, an outlier due to the poor safety features of the plant, directly killed 31–50 people and 600,000 were provided with additional medical oversight and benefits due to possible exposure; Richard Gray, The True Toll of the Chernobyl Disaster, BBC Future (25 July 2019) <www.bbc.com/future/article/20190725-will-we-ever-know-chernobyls-true-death-toll> Accessed 31 July 2022. Other notable accidents had relatively minimal impacts on human health. Several workers were exposed to excessive radiation doses as a result of the Fukushima disaster, but the Japanese government has confirmed only one death. Fukushima Disaster: What Happened at the Nuclear Plant? BBC News (10 March 2021) <www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56252695> Accessed 31 July 2022. No deaths or exposures were reported in connection with the Three Mile Island accident, although there are allegations of related cancers. Meltdown at Three Mile Island: 40 Years Later (Public Broadcasting System 26 March 2019) <www.pbs.org/video/meltdown-at-three-mile-island-40-years-later-yj2jx2/> Accessed 31 July 2022; see also Hannah Ritchie, What Was the Death Toll from Chernobyl and Fukushima? Our World in Data (24 July 2017, updated February 2020), <https://ourworldindata.org/what-was-the-death-toll-from-chernobyl-and-fukushima> Accessed 31 July 2022; compare Alan Taylor, Bhopal: The World’s Worst Industrial Disaster, 30 Years Later (The Atlantic, 2 December 2014) <www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/12/bhopal-the-worlds-worst-industrial-disaster-30-years-later/100864/> Accessed 31 July 2022 (fertiliser plant explosion in Bhopal, India killed up to 15,000 over the years, with exposed population of 600,000); Ashkeboussi (n 6) (comparing deaths per unit of energy produced by fuel type with nuclear comparing favourably)

22 Steven P. Nesbit, President of the American Nuclear Society, The Breadth & Depth of America’s Nuclear Future, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 11 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8OhRwKJhBc&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=10> Accessed 31 July 2022 (the industry must achieve better economics and public acceptance to realise its potential); Peter D. Wolf, President, Nuclear Energy Solutions, Inc., Garnering Public Support, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 12 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQWkaYriPc&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=13> Accessed 31 July 2022 (describing ‘waste, safety, and cost’ as the industry’s ‘bugaboos’); Arndt (n 12) (calling for policy and regulatory changes); Dr Edward Kee, CEO, Nuclear Economics Consulting Group, The Future of US Nuclear Power, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 10 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LV_hEgGQIg&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=4> Accessed 31 July 2022 (citing market failure and calling for government intervention). America’s Strategy to Secure the Supply Chain for a Robust and Clean Energy Future, US Department of Energy, Office of Policy (24 February 2022) <www.energy.gov/policy/articles/americas-strategy-secure-supply-chain-robust-clean-energy-transition> Accessed 31 July 2022; Nuclear Energy: Supply Chain Deep Dive Assessment, US Department of Energy (24 February 2022) <https://www.energy.gov/policy/securing-americas-clean-energy-supply-chain> Accessed 31 July 2022

23 Dr Andrew Sowder, EPRI, The Importance of Fuel and Material Testing Infrastructure for Nuclear Fleet Development, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington, DC, 9 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPTtGfhWO5M&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=5> Accessed 31 July 2022

24 Guidance for Moving Forward (panel discussion), Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington, DC, 9 May 2022); Thiele (n 6); Greg Lamarre, Garnering Public Support, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 12 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQWkaYriPc&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=13> Accessed 31 July 2022

25 Fiona Reilly, Making Nuclear An Investable Asset Class, Keynote Address Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 12 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIXGmRSPlFY&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a> Accessed 31 July 2022

26 Kee (n 22)

27 Ibid

28 Ibid

29 Ibid

30 Ibid

31 Ibid

32 eg Reilly (n 25); Judi Greenwald, Collaboration in Advanced Nuclear Energy, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 12 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyriniynwYQ&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=12> Accessed 31 July 2022

33 Additional needs are set forth in February 2022 reports by the US Department of Energy (n 22)

34 Ashkeboussi (n 6)

35 Goepple (n 13)

36 Dr Jenifer Shafer, Reprocessing Technologies of Tomorrow: Fixing Economics & Improving Nonproliferation, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 10 May 2022) <www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKonnXV3Txc&list=PLhU7_6LoHjIPxIxj_xi3OOTxvReQLqm0a&index=8> Accessed 31 July 2022

37 Ibid

38 Dr Jessica Lovering, Guidance for Moving Forward, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 9 May 2022)

39 Ashkeboussi (n 6)

40 Ibid

41 Lovering (n 38); Greenwald (n 32); see Burns (n 7) (citing Arnstein’s ladder, with the lowest level being unresponsive government, and discussing ‘talking to’ rather than ‘talking with’ as communication models)

42 Lamarre (n 24); Thiele (n 6)

43 Thiele (n 6)

44 Huff (n 9)

45 Arndt (n 12)

46 Lovering (n 38)

47 Jessica Bielecki, Guidance for Moving Forward, panel discussion, Investable Nuclear Energy Conference (Washington DC, 9 May 2022)

48 Ibid; SECY-22-0025: Systematic Review of How Agency Programs, Policies, And Activities Address Environmental Justice, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (12 April 2022) <www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2203/ML22031A063.html> Accessed 31 July 2022

49 Burns (n 7)

50 Ibid

51 Ibid

52 Andrew E. Kramer, ‘Russian Blunders in Chernobyl: ‘They Came and Did Whatever They Wanted’ (The New York Times, 8 April 2022) <www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/world/europe/ukraine-chernobyl.html> Accessed 31 July 2022

53 Burns (n 7)

54 Huff (n 9)

55 Ibid

56 Ibid

57 Ibid

58 Burns (n 7)

59 Burns (n 7)

60 Arndt (n 12)

61 Reilly (n 25)

62 Ibid

63 Ibid

64 Ibid

65 Nick (n 8)

66 Begaye (n 20)