Washington, D.C. — August 1, 2024 — Anthropocene Institute’s Hilda Palencia attended The Hill’s The Nuclear Frontier: Securing America’s Energy Future on August 1st to learn more about the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act. The new law seeks to broaden how America generates power, creating a more resilient infrastructure to meet the surging energy demands driven by data centers, electric vehicles, and reshored factories.

Among others, speakers included Mark W. Menezes, President & Chief Executive Officer, United States Energy Association, Former Deputy Secretary; Maria Korsnick, CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute; and Lesley Jantarasami, Managing Director, Energy Program, Bipartisan Policy Center. 

President Biden signed the ADVANCE Act into law in July. It passed the Senate 88-2. It directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to explore methods of quickening the licensing process for new nuclear technology, as well as streamlining the Energy Department’s technology export process.

The recent passage of major legislation to boost the deployment of nuclear reactors is evidence of a bipartisan consensus on nuclear power as an opportunity to keep pace with China on renewable energy. The bipartisan vote on the legislation indicates “members of both parties are looking to build on decades of innovation and … create this new opportunity to build new gigawatt-scale clean energy facilities in the United States,” said Jantarasami.

Speakers at the event recognized that we are moving toward modernizing the U.S. economy, including building a new energy economy that needs to be centered around clean energy. Increasingly, people understand that nuclear energy is a foundational piece. 

Widespread interest exists within industry and utilities in deploying new nuclear technology, but the process has been hampered by anxiety about the pressure of being the first to jump in. Initiatives such as The Oppenheimer Project are working to break the stalemate by facilitating funding and connections among reactor vendors, utilities, and funders. 

Participants asked pertinent questions, such as, “How are the industry inclusion efforts coming along for the public-private partnerships?” Menezes answered, “There’s been a huge effort to develop that, and it’s a hallmark of how the DOE operates,” he said. “That has been a tried and proven method of advancing technologies and getting the project department or the government to really take the technological risk, which is an important role for the government to play.”

Another audience member asked, “How do you change the climate of public opinion on nuclear energy?” Menezes replied, “We want to make nuclear cool. We are going around trying to get engineers to go into nuclear, and nuclear has a bright future. With the emissions story IAE back in 2019, that big growth report that says, ‘If you're serious and reducing global emissions and providing independent energy to countries, all countries should be looking at investing in nuclear.’”