As previously reported on this site, nuclear generation development has taken hold as a potential promise for a long-term, genuinely carbon-free power supply. The momentum of this potential is rapidly gaining steam (no pun intended) both internationally and domestically, posing the domestic energy policy question of whether the U.S. is sufficiently poised to capitalize on this momentum. A number of current articles draw attention to significant barriers to entry our nation faces, but also provide insight into potential solutions for overcoming those barriers in pursuit of a much-needed national strategy.

Politico reports on emerging legislative efforts in Congress to facilitate a nuclear future for the U.S., highlighting the fact that despite the prospective benefits of nuclear power advancements, there are significant obstacles. In addition to just the collective will to move forward, these obstacles include questions of funding (who will pay and how, whether through additional or ongoing subsidies, tax incentives and credits, etc.?), how to impart the necessary regulatory and environmental structures necessary to support a broad initiative, efficient licensing requirements, and the presence of substantial international competition over available technology and enriched fuels. These clouds, however, are not without hopeful silver linings. Of critical note, while partisan gridlock continues to characterize the general state of legislative discourse in Congress, there is an encouraging (if not prevailing) presence of strong bi-partisan interest and support in moving toward greater nuclear development solutions to these barriers, though a concise and concerted national strategy is still largely lacking. 

CNN builds on these considerations, focusing on the international landscape of nuclear development and the two primary competing interests within the U.S pushing the discourse toward energetic development or pulling the reins on the momentum in favor of caution. And while the answers to many of the cautionary concerns over nuclear development (including legacy apprehensions over safety and fuel waste disposal) appear to already be in hand, what is clear is much of the rest of the world seems poised to move ahead – particularly in pursuit of the one emerging solution that, while not a panacea, portends the most effective answer to the greatest barriers: small modular nuclear reactors. 

While the U.S. has finally taken meaningful steps in the modular nuclear direction (see, e.g., Westinghouse and Energy-Northwest-and-X-energy), those efforts are still largely piecemeal and lagging in comparison with global competitors. As noted very recently by Reuters, the United Kingdom is moving forward aggressively with proposals to introduce 24 gigawatts of incremental nuclear power (or about 25 percent of U.K.'s projected electricity demand) within the next decade. This does not mean that the U.K. is without some of the same barriers to entry that face the U.S. domestically, including gaining legal and regulatory approvals, but a national U.K. strategy is clearly advancing. Simultaneously, though well in advance of even the U.K., China (by far the greatest contributor of global greenhouse gases) has already completed the world's first commercial onshore small modular reactor, placing that nation in position to outpace all others in the development and in-service placement of both large- and small-scale nuclear technology as early as 2026.

As the U.S. moves in all directions toward carbon reduction and renewable energy, with all of the attendant issues of electric reliability, interconnection, and cost, it seems apparent that a national strategy toward truly carbon-neutral and consistently reliable small-scale nuclear power is needed. Admittedly, an emerging national strategy may not resolve all of the questions around development and roll-out of this technology, particularly in terms of the financial questions and in comparison with state-owned operations in other countries. But the U.S. is certainly positioned well in terms of technology and the inherent competitiveness of our national industry and markets to assume a place as a global leader, presuming there is a political will to do so (and to get out of its own way).