The United States Energy Association’s 18th Annual State of the Energy Industry Forum was held on Jan. 20. The event convenes chief executives from the major trade associations in the energy industry to talk about policy objectives and priorities for the upcoming year.
This year’s 21 speakers represented a range of energy sources, creating a platform to share differing viewpoints.
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NEI’s President and Chief Executive Officer Maria Korsnick spoke to the audience about nuclear’s role in the race to net zero.
The landscape of the fight for net zero has shifted since she spoke at the event a year ago. The climate crisis has intensified, plans have been discussed, and the stakes have never been higher. Now, the focus must be on action.
We have seen alignment in terms of policy, industry commitments, and interest from investors and consumers on the essential role nuclear plays in our clean energy transition as the most reliable, scalable, carbon-free energy source at our disposal.
There has been strong, bipartisan support from Congress, as well as from the Biden Administration—from increased appropriations for the development of new nuclear technologies to major industry investments in the historic bipartisan infrastructure package.
Across the private sector, there are over 60 new nuclear technologies actively in development, and we’re seeing unprecedented demand for these smaller modular reactors. International partnerships for new nuclear are blossoming as the whole world seeks to decarbonize.
The financial community is also taking notice as nuclear becomes an increasingly better investment and a way to help businesses meet their climate goals and commitments. According to a recent study, nuclear market revenues for U.S. companies alone could be worth up to $1.9 trillion over the next 30 years.
Nuclear energy is critical to the decarbonization equation because it is carbon-free and the key component that makes net zero affordable. Study after study has confirmed nuclear’s potential to lower system costs, which, ultimately lowers energy costs for ratepayers.
For example, when Washington state pledged to produce 100 percent clean power by 2045, Energy Northwest evaluated its options for the next 20 years. In a complete decarbonization scenario, they found that the Pacific Northwest region could save more than $8 billion every year by including existing and new nuclear in its clean-energy mix.
“Make no mistake: Faced with an existential threat in climate change, the world is racing to net zero. It’s a race against the clock, and one we simply can’t win without nuclear energy,” Korsnick said.
“But if we invest in nuclear energy—if we make the right decisions today—achieving net-zero doesn’t need to be a zero-sum game.”
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President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute Maria Korsnick’s Remarks as Prepared:
Good morning. It’s an honor to be back at this forum. I want to extend my thanks to Sheila for the invitation to speak today.
Last year, we talked about the central challenge facing the energy sector: dramatically reducing carbon emissions while meeting the world’s growing demand for electricity.
Today, that challenge remains. But the landscape has shifted. Heads of state, CEOs, and investors are all charting their paths to net-zero carbon emissions.
I’ve been fortunate to attend climate and energy conferences across the world. At each stop, I’ve seen these plans for a clean energy system gradually take shape.
They vary, but they have a common element: recognition that we need to bring carbon emissions from electricity generation close to zero by 2050. The Biden Administration is aiming to reach net zero by 2035. Just last month, the president issued an executive order committing the federal government to get there even sooner, by 2030.
In other words, the urgency to act is finally catching up to the urgency of the climate crisis. We have no shortage of high-level plans. Executing them depends on our choices.
The stakes could not be higher. We need to prepare for a future that demands smarter, more reliable, and more efficient energy solutions.
I’m here to tell you that carbon-free nuclear energy fits the bill perfectly. It’s the most reliable, scalable, carbon-free source at our disposal.
And nuclear is no longer just one of many options. It’s the key to making these plans work. We’re moving towards alignment in support of nuclear’s role—in terms of policy, in terms of industry commitments, and in terms of interest from investors and consumers.
Nuclear energy can offer carbon-free energy to both the world’s largest cities and remote, rural communities. It can pave the way to net-zero emissions while creating the good-paying, lasting jobs that will propel local economies into the future. And the next generation of versatile reactors can pair perfectly with other carbon-free sources like wind, solar, and hydro.
With the right decisions around nuclear energy, we can make reaching net zero a net positive.
***
As some of you might know, nuclear accounts for 20 percent of total U.S. electricity generation and more than 50 percent of our carbon-free electricity. The U.S. nuclear fleet, the world’s largest, is now our second-largest electric source overall.
In 2020, nuclear surpassed coal for the first time ever in terms of overall production. That year, our 94 reactors produced nearly 800 million megawatt-hours of power. Back in 1989, it would have taken 33 additional reactors to generate the same amount.
To have any chance at meeting our climate goals, we need to keep our existing nuclear fleet online. We know that when nuclear plants shut down, we depend on fossil fuels. And when coal and natural gas inevitably fill the void, emissions rise.
That isn't decarbonizing. It’s moving backwards when we can least afford to.
Just look across the Atlantic. Right now, Germany is shuttering three of its nuclear plants and planning to completely phase out the source by the end of 2022. Energy prices are soaring. Their deadline to reach net zero emissions is approaching. And yet, we’re seeing Europe’s largest economy revert back to fossil fuels.
The entire world desperately needs to decarbonize. The U.S. industry needs to take the lead, and that starts with preserving our existing nuclear capacity.
These are high-stakes decisions. Recently, the Illinois General Assembly passed sweeping clean energy legislation preserving its nuclear plants. Had those plants shut down, Illinois would have lost more than twice the amount of clean electricity that wind and solar produce in the state combined.
Instead, keeping the plants running allowed Exelon to fill 650 vacant jobs. The legislation jumpstarted more than $300 million in capital projects at the nuclear stations over the next five years.
That’s the kind of decisionmaking that we need to build a carbon-free future.
***
Over the last several years, experts across government, academic institutions, and the private sector have studied the most affordable paths to a carbon-free future. And there’s no more real debate: They all include nuclear. Study after study has confirmed nuclear’s potential to lower system costs.
Here’s one example. When Washington state pledged to produce 100 percent of its power from clean sources by 2045, Energy Northwest commissioned a study to evaluate its options for the next 20 years. In a complete decarbonization scenario, they found that the Pacific Northwest region could save more than $8 billion every year by including nuclear—existing and new generation—in its clean-energy mix.
In other words, nuclear brings the critical component that actually makes complete decarbonization affordable.
That’s true in other regions, and around the world. Last October, Mark Carney, the UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, told an audience in London that he had "never seen a credible energy transition strategy that does not include nuclear."
Moving forward, we know that advanced reactors will become more affordable than their predecessors. Factory construction will improve manufacturing quality and quantity at lower cost, getting reactors to market faster.
And some new technologies use other substances like molten salt or liquid metals rather than water to transfer heat. This allows them to run safely at higher temperatures and lower pressures, which also lowers design and construction cost.
And the more we build, the more efficient and affordable we’ll get.
***
Strong policy support—this year and over the coming decade—will be absolutely crucial to bringing the next generation of nuclear reactors online. Thankfully, policymakers agree.
As Energy Secretary Granholm has said, nuclear is an “absolutely critical part of our decarbonization equation.” The Biden Administration has called the next few years a “can’t miss opportunity” for nuclear energy.
At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, a bipartisan majority in Congress also recognizes that the path to an affordable, carbon-free energy future runs through nuclear energy.
Last year, Congress significantly increased appropriations to accelerate research, development and demonstration of new technologies. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle signed on to legislation that recognizes nuclear’s contributions to today’s economy and our clean energy future.
The historic, bipartisan infrastructure package that passed in October brought major investments to the industry. The $1.2 trillion in funding includes $6 billion towards a civil nuclear credit program that provides financial support to reactors that are at risk of closing. The package also doubles down with $2.5 billion towards Advanced Reactor Demonstrations, with the goal of deployment before the decade is out.
In an era of continued polarization, that level of bipartisan support for nuclear is remarkable — and it’s only growing stronger.
***
Thanks to decades of innovation, the advanced nuclear reactors that will soon be operational will look very different from the options just a few years ago. New nuclear reactors will come in all sizes, makes, and models. They’ll have the flexibility to modify output and the versatility to pair up perfectly with variable sources like wind and solar.
Advanced reactors open new possibilities for service at any scale. They offer entire states and major cities a way to transition away from fossil fuels. But they also offer new solutions to isolated areas—from Alaska to Puerto Rico—that currently rely on outdated carbon-emitting sources and where large, traditional reactors don’t make sense.
We’re seeing unprecedented demand for these scalable, smaller modular reactors. And we look forward to several of them coming online before 2030.
Across the private sector, there are over 60 new nuclear technologies actively in development, many of which are moving toward demonstrations. Companies like NuScale, GE- Hitachi, and Holtec are building on current light-water reactor experience. These designs can be less expensive to build than their predecessors.
Companies like X-energy, Kairos Power, and Terrestrial Energy are developing their own reactors. They are opening the door for utilities to make zero-carbon, pollution-free nuclear power a part of their energy mix anywhere.
Momentum is picking up internationally as well. As Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, put it at last year’s U.N. conference on climate change: “Countries have ‘re-appreciated’ the value of nuclear power.”
At that same conference, NuScale announced an agreement with Nuclearelectrica, a Romanian nuclear energy producer, to clear the way for the deployment of Europe's first small modular reactor.
In Poland, several companies announced plans to replace retiring coal plants by building four to six small modular reactors, which can produce up to 300 megawatts electric each.
And in Ukraine, Westinghouse Electric Company and Energoatom signed a contract to develop the country’s first AP1000 unit.
These leaders are working across borders to create the clean-energy future that we desperately need.
***
The financial community is also taking notice of the opportunity that nuclear presents. As we move towards a carbon-free energy system and advanced reactors move closer to build, sustainable nuclear energy becomes a better and better investment.
According to a recent study, nuclear market revenues for U.S. companies alone could be worth up to $1.9 trillion over the next 30 years.
And at a community level, nuclear energy offers a just economic transition away from fossil fuels. Nuclear technology is American technology. It creates good-paying jobs—the kinds of jobs that can anchor a community.
Today, the U.S. nuclear energy sector directly employs nearly 100,000 people. The supply chain—including fuel, manufacturing, and maintenance—supports four times that many jobs.
With greater investment in the next generation of nuclear energy, those figures could grow dramatically. Today’s energy workers, including from legacy sources, can help build advanced reactors. Some skill requirements, like operating a steam turbine, are highly transferable. And in some cases, next-generation nuclear reactors can literally be built on fossil fuel sites.
Much of the infrastructure at coal plants can be used for nuclear plants, which avoids the need for new transmission to connect these plants to the grid.
A recent report from ScottMadden, an energy consulting firm, looked specifically at communities in the United States transitioning from coal to nuclear. It estimated that each small modular reactor would provide hundreds of on-site jobs—far more than a similarly sized coal plant. These jobs would exist throughout the 60+ year life of the plant and pay substantially higher wages.
Hundreds of coal plants are scheduled to close in the next several years. Investments in nuclear energy can create high-paying jobs in places that badly need them while accelerating our journey to net zero.
That’s why financial institutions need to update their ESG screens to include nuclear energy. By doing so, they’ll recognize the carbon-free electricity it produces, the good-paying jobs it creates, and the crucial role it will play in addressing the climate crisis.
***
Make no mistake: Faced with an existential threat in climate change, the world is racing to net zero. It’s a race against the clock, and one we simply can’t win without nuclear energy.
But if we invest in nuclear energy—if we make the right decisions today—achieving net-zero doesn’t need to be a zero-sum game.
We have the technology. It’s reliable, it’s versatile, and it’s never been more needed.
Thank you.
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