Scientists, CEOs, heads of state, business leaders, and economists have reached a global consensus that nuclear power is a critical piece of the clean energy puzzle. The advantages of new nuclear energy can transform our world if we act quickly.
Supporting Advanced Nuclear
Meeting the moment requires all stakeholders—policymakers, industries, regulators, and investors—to take action on multiple fronts.
Federal Support
Bipartisan support for advanced nuclear energy is strong. The United States has enacted historic infrastructure and energy legislation in recent years. These laws will preserve our existing nuclear generation—which supplies nearly half of America’s clean energy—and accelerate future deployment. The incentives for nuclear in these laws speak for themselves, and they have come at a time when utilities are already making remarkable leaps to expand their nuclear programs.
A top priority for the industry now is to establish a competitive U.S. fuel supply that can stand as an independent alternative to Russia’s leverage over global fuel services. We need to act now to expand our domestic uranium enrichment and conversion capabilities for both the existing fleet and new reactor designs.
More on our federal policy priorities
The Regulator
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is going to face a rapidly growing volume of applications for new reactors. If we’re going to build them, we need a more efficient process. This can be done without compromising safety. Regulators must have the capacity to process new licenses and approve site construction so these reactors can come online in time to meet our climate goals.
More on Regulatory Modernization
State Support
As we move past agreements for construction and deployment, action continues to grow in state capitals across the country. There’s no coincidence that state legislatures are reaching this point following new clean energy laws that prioritize the exploration of advanced reactors. Leaders on both sides of the aisle have already reached consensus that new nuclear isn’t just a tool, but the key tool to creating a just and reliable clean energy transition.
Now, it’s time for states to take the next step. It’s time to move beyond renewable portfolio standards and toward clean energy standards. It’s time to enact responsible tax incentives, pursue feasibility studies, and make nuclear a staple of long-term, strategic energy planning.
These kinds of policy measures at the state level can move the needle.
Click here to see growing state support and projects that may be in operation by the early 2030s.
Investors
Federal and state policy signals are also opening the doors to more private investment in nuclear technologies, and we are seeing a shift in the way private investors are viewing nuclear energy.
Stats on Nuclear Energy Public Opinion
- A multinational survey from Potential Energy, Clearpath, Replanet, and Third Way found that there is widespread international and bipartisan public support for advanced nuclear energy technologies.
- 61 percent of respondents said the U.S. should be spending more on nuclear energy research and development.
- 3 in 5 Americans support nuclear power plants as a source of electricity.
- 96 percent of plant neighbors, as well as 86 percent of the public, believe that nuclear energy will be important in meeting the nation’s electricity needs.
- 86 percent of people living near a nuclear power plant would accept adding a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) to the plant.
- A 2023 Gallup poll found that Americans’ support for nuclear energy is the highest it’s been in a decade.
What You Can Do
Share Public Opinion: Support is “wide and deep” when it comes to nuclear energy public opinion. Help spread the word by sharing the critical benefits of nuclear with your friends and family.
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