U.S. nuclear energy doesn’t live in a vacuum. There’s a lot going on in the global markets to get nuclear online, but that means competition for American nuclear companies.
Want to learn more about international financing in nuclear? We’re asking the expert, Kevin Warnke, NEI’s Director of International Government Affairs.
What’s the difference between the international and domestic financing of nuclear?
The biggest difference between international and domestic financing of nuclear is really the international competition. When you look out at markets around the world, there's so much intense international competition. And our competitors are coming to the table with aggressive state-backed financing packages. And that is something that is just profoundly different than what we see here in the domestic market.
Fundamentally, we're talking about loans, we're talking about raising money from capital markets, the same kinds of things domestically and internationally. But, what is the key difference is the ability of foreign governments to come to the table with full financing packages to support their exports. And that's why it’s so important that the U.S. be able to come to the table with something to counter that’s effective and competitive.
How have we seen the international finance piece move in the last couple of years?
The biggest change that we've seen in the last couple of years has been the recognition of the important role that nuclear power can play in providing a clean source of energy. We've seen governments and financial institutions undo some of their legacy prohibitions and find new ways to create pathways for nuclear power to come online and help bring clean, reliable energy to power economies around the world.
Are international markets eager to work with US-based companies?
Absolutely. American companies are seen around the world as providing so much incredible value, both in terms of their safety and their reliability. We have a long operating history here in the United States of providing clean, reliable power, and it's the envy of the world. And you add on top of that the amazing innovations that are happening here in the domestic market.
And you see countries around the world saying these are the technologies that we want to have access to, to help power our economies. And when those countries are choosing America as a partner, they're forging a government-to-government partnership that can last for decades. So, it's really important that when these countries have the opportunity to choose American, we're helping to give them a pathway to do so.
What changes would you like to see in the financial space to accelerate U.S. nuclear exports?
To really help support nuclear exports, we need the government to be a full partner with industry. So, we have to look at the U.S. government financing tools that are available out there and make sure that they're well suited to effectively and efficiently support nuclear exports. And so that means expanding their authorities, increasing their flexibility and making sure that they have the resources to help U.S. companies compete globally.
So, Congress right now is debating the reauthorization of two key financing agencies here in the US government, right? We have the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the US International Development Finance Corporation. These two entities are really important in providing the financing that helps U.S. companies compete globally.
So, it’s really important that Congress take a close look at how we can ensure that these agencies are being fully competitive globally so that when U.S. companies are facing competition from around the world form firms that are backed by China, Russia, other state-owned enterprises, that they have the full resources available to them to help them succeed on behalf of American workers.
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