Around presidential debates you’re bound to hear plenty of buzzwords and terms you might not hear too frequently outside of them. One of the most prominent: Energy Independence. This became an increasingly important topic in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But, what exactly is energy independence and what exactly does it have to do with nuclear?
Being able to provide the necessary amounts of energy, without disruption, for households and businesses is crucial to the security and safety of a civilization. Simple and easy, right? Well, unfortunately not.
There is a lot of disagreement around how we maintain our energy independence, as well as the best way for places abroad to achieve it. Ukraine, for a large part, was reliant on Russia economically and for energy. The invasion in 2022 caused serious issues. They were forced to find energy from other sources.
It wasn’t just Ukraine that was facing energy issues in the wake of this invasion, much of Europe was faced with this issue as Russia is a major supplier of natural gas. Countries were forced to decide whether or not they wanted to do business with Russia to provide energy or risk financial issues and power outages. Even here in the United States we get nuclear from Russia (The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act passed in May will help end this) and getting oil from all over the world, leaving us dependent on others for our energy needs.
As more and more places are forced to reckon with energy issues, the question is: How can we provide affordable, reliable, and clean energy for everyone while cutting reliance on bad actors? The answer: nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is carbon-free, reliable (nuclear plants operate at full-capacity 93% of the time, far higher than other sources), and is cost-competitive. There’s not enough of it yet, though.
Luckily, with legislation like the recently passed ADVANCE Act, that could change. As we discussed on this very blog in March, the ADVANCE Act will make the review process more efficient and decrease the fees paid by advanced reactor license applicants. It will also modernize the regulatory framework, facilitate export of U.S. nuclear technology, and spur the deployment of advanced reactors. This will make nuclear energy cheaper and faster to the market.
NEI President and CEO Maria Korsnick said of the bill’s passing “We are thrilled at the passage of the bipartisan nuclear bill bringing together the hallmark provisions from both the ADVANCE Act and the Atomic Energy Advancement Act. This bipartisan legislative package ensures the U.S. maintains its leadership on the global stage and helps meet our climate and national energy security goals. The passage of the ADVANCE Act allows us to bolster U.S. international competitiveness at this crucial junction, accelerate the domestic deployments of innovative advanced nuclear technologies, and modernize the oversight and licensing of the operating fleet of reactors.”
What E&E called ‘this Congress’ first big energy win’ is set to accelerate nuclear energy in the United States and help improve their standing as leaders globally.
The need for clean, affordable and reliable energy worldwide is only growing. The ADVANCE Act is going to do wonders for American energy independence and position us as a global nuclear energy leader. Doing this will allow folks independence from fossil fuels and bad actors like Russia.
