President Joe Biden quickly established climate policy as a priority for his administration upon taking office on Jan. 20, including rejoining the Paris Agreement. Central to the administration’s strategy is a whole-of-government approach—rallying every agency, setting ambitious carbon reduction goals and driving energy innovation.
This approach has kickstarted a push for serious climate action, utilizing all carbon-free energy sources available. We are seeing a growing recognition across the federal government that nuclear carbon-free energy is an important part of any viable climate solution, and now we are met with an opportunity to act both fiscally and legislatively.
Leaders within the administration and in Congress are expressing their support for nuclear carbon-free energy. White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy told the Washington Post regarding nuclear energy, “President Biden's plan is really not to pick winners and losers. It's to work with our regulators, to work with the policymakers across the agencies, and to work with the private sector to make sure that anything that has promise remains on the table for opportunity.”
“We’re not going to be able to achieve our climate goals if our nuclear power plants shut down. We have to find ways to keep them operating,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
“As a zero-emissions baseload fuel source, I believe that maintaining our fleet and preventing closures of existing nuclear plants is critical to achieving emission reduction goals and ensuring a reliable grid,” wrote Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
Nuclear has always enjoyed bipartisan support, like when Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) quipped:
*me, when someone tries to say we don’t need nuclear energy* pic.twitter.com/289qiHdSnj
— Chuck Fleischmann (@RepChuck) March 8, 2021
National media have taken notice as well, including Fareed Zakaria:
If we're going to avoid a global climate disaster, nuclear energy will almost certainly have to be part of the solution. This week's last look: pic.twitter.com/cK7nbfShxn
— Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) April 25, 2021
Meeting the Moment Through Action
This growing support indicates how opinions have changed about nuclear energy, but rhetoric alone will not preserve nuclear plants, deploy new reactors or reduce carbon emissions. Actions can.
The Biden administration has followed through on its promises with FY2022 proposed funding of a record $1.85 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear energy program—bolstering nuclear energy’s role in the United States’ climate plans. This 23 percent increase from FY2021 will further support nuclear research and development, as well as the deployment of the next generation of reactors by the end of the decade.
Biden’s budget proposal also includes additional funding of $1 billion in credits to help preserve existing nuclear plants as well as $60 million in funding for the U.S. Department of Defense to support the mobile micro-reactor program.
“The administration continues to show significant support for proven solutions like nuclear. NEI looks forward to working with Congress to ensure nuclear is recognized as essential to our economic recovery, addressing the climate crisis, and creating the clean energy jobs of the future,” said NEI President and Chief Executive Officer Maria Korsnick.
We Cannot Afford to Go Backwards on Climate
Currently, nuclear energy is the largest provider of clean energy in the U.S., generating nearly 20 percent of the country’s electricity. And it’s always on, 24/7, providing a reliable source of carbon-free energy to support wind and solar when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.
The next generation of nuclear reactors will also be vital to reducing carbon emissions across the economy as they will pair well with wind and solar and provide additional applications like hydrogen production to decarbonize the transportation and industrial sectors.
If we want to stop climate change, we need every carbon-free tool available—we need nuclear energy. It’s time for policymakers to match this moment with concrete actions in support of the largest source of carbon-free energy in the U.S. We must see this momentum through. The time for action has arrived.
