President Biden will deliver his State of the Union Address on March 1. This speech is delivered to Congress and typically provides insight into the current condition of the nation, past achievements, and plans for the future.
Reflecting broadly on the state of the nation this year…we’re still in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic. International tensions are rising abroad. Political divides have deepened.
Many anticipate these challenges will be emphasized in Biden’s State of the Union (SOTU). Another issue that must be addressed head on is climate change. If the nation is serious about decarbonization, which the administration has signaled it is, nuclear energy should be a central point in the address.
Climate change is inextricably tied to public health, economic wellbeing, and extreme weather. It impacts where we can live, how we work, and our physical health.
According to NASA, in brief, “the effects of human-caused global warming are happening now, are irreversible on the timescale of people alive today, and will worsen in the decades to come.”
Beyond how it impacts us within this lifetime, the world is facing devastating long-term effects such as compromised access to food and drinking water, frequent intense heat waves and flooding, biodiversity loss and increased disease related to weather changes. This crisis warrants immense media attention, private and public investment, and political cooperation, and it largely depends on our ability to reduce carbon emissions. It is critical for President Biden to build on his commitments to decarbonize and include this discussion in his SOTU.
Central to this call to action is the energy source that provides more than half of our carbon-free power: nuclear energy. Reactors operating currently run 24/7, 365 days a year, providing clean, affordable and reliable energy to towns across the United States.
When gigawatts of coal come off the grid in the coming years and energy systems transition away from fossil fuels, we will need nuclear more than ever. A lot of it.
Next generation nuclear is poised to build on the legacy of the existing fleet and transition our electrical grid to clean energy. Advanced reactors will be smaller, simpler and safer. They’re designed to be versatile in application and flexible in size.
Countries across the world—Poland, China, and France, to name a few—are acting on the fact that to decarbonize quickly and affordably, they need more nuclear. Here at home, states are pushing towards net zero as well. Actions range from just the beginning—West Virginia lifting its decades-old nuclear ban—to Tennessee’s state government and public utility collaborating on a long-term nuclear strategy.
Through its historic investment in nuclear energy in the infrastructure package, the Biden administration has signaled its “bullish” support of new nuclear. And in Congress, nuclear energy has been a point of unification—one of the few existing issues that rallies bipartisan support.
Nuclear needs to be elevated in the SOTU to the position it finds itself in today—powering a brighter future.
