Where is there strong and enduring bipartisan agreement? Nuclear energy

Has anyone else noticed this?

Despite historic levels of strife and discord between the parties, and decades of Democratic opposition to nuclear power, on February 24, 2024, the House passed HR 6544 – The Atomic Energy Advancement Act — by the overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 365 to 36. This bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC)  and Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette (CO), aims to have the NRC accelerate the review and approval of new nuclear designs by requiring that they factor in the benefits of nuclear energy against the risks of not doing so. Given that people demand firm power and this results in fossil fuels being burned, the risks posed by not providing a clean, firm alternative through nuclear are clear.

This is just stunning legislation and it provides important acknowledgement from the (largely climate-denying) Republican Party that the world needs nuclear and unjustified delays in the licensing process pose extremel risks to humanity. The bill received support from 175 Democratic representatives. The “No” votes came from mostly junior Democratic Representatives (possibly because energy is not yet among the top issues they focus on).

This bill mirrors the Senate’s Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act, which was passed April, 2023 by a vote of 86 to 11.  Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.Va.), Tom Carper (D., Del.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) were the bipartisan sponsors of a bill whose purpose is to support the preservation, development, and deployment of nuclear energy while “making the nuclear licensing process more affordable, predictable, and efficient.” Lawmakers are already at work reconciling the differences between these two bills and the final bill is expected to be signed by President Biden, who has been steadily laying the foundation for the U.S. to lead the world in next generation of nuclear power. In anticipation of this legislation being enacted, the NRC has directed its staff to prepare changes to Part 53.

So, is this a one-off? A freak occurence? No, in fact, this is a continuation of a very long but below the radar series of bipartisan legislative and executive efforts to modernize, streamline and update the capabilities of the U.S. nuclear sector, including securing fuel production and accelerating regulatory oversight.

More than s Decade of Bipartisan Progress on Nuclear

At the end of 2023, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act  (HR 2670) for 2024, a must-pass bill to keep the government funded. It included an amendment containing the Nuclear Fuel Security Act (NFSA) and an appropriation of $2.7 Billion to boost domestic US production of enriched uranium (both LEU and HALEU) and end American reliance on Russian fuel.

The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act (H.R. 1042) also passed in the House in December with a bipartisan voice vote. Although the Senate has yet to pass a similar act, now that the NFSA has passed with funding to help build US domestic capacity,  the Senate is very likely to pass their own version of the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act with strong bipartisan support and have the reconciled law be signed by President BIden.

These legislative accomplishments follow the passage of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which expanded federal support for nuclear power, by leveling the playing field and giving nuclear the same tax incentives as solar and wind. Biden also enacted the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provided $6 billion to protecting existing nuclear power from premature closure, recognizing that the loss of a working nuclear power plant meant adding back fossil fuel generation and increasing carbon emissions. This funding enabled Democratically-controlled California to save Diablo Canyon from premature closure and may help Michigan to restart the shuttered Palisades power plant.

The Biden Administration has stimulated a resurgence in nuclear power but the ball really got rolling with legislation passed with bipartisan support and signed by President Trump. The Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), enacted in 2019, and the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Capabilities Act (NEICA), enacted in 2018, provided critical funding a number of advanced nuclear development projects and ventures and began the process of revamping NRC mandates.

Even prior to Trump, the Obama Administration got to work on “Actions to Ensure that Nuclear Energy Remains a Vibrant Component of the United States’ Clean Energy Strategy.” Obama recognized that “the continued development of new and advanced nuclear technologies along with support for currently operating nuclear power plants was an important component of our clean energy strategy while also advancing economic competitiveness, job creation, enhancing nuclear nonproliferation efforts, and increasing energy security.“

As a result, Obama almost doubled the nuclear budget that existed under President Bush and allocated more than $900 million for the Department of Energy (DOE) to expand support the U.S. civilian nuclear energy sector. Among the important programs and initiatives he created were the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN), expanding the Loan Guarantee Program’s support for nuclear energy, and Investing in SMR Licensing of first-of-a-kind engineering costs for NRC certification of advanced designs.

Summary

In today’s polarized political environment, there’s shocklingly little that Democrats and Republicans agree on. Yet in administration after administration, nuclear power has received bipartisan support. For Democrats, their support comes from knowing that nuclear power helps to solve climate change, reduce air pollution and maintain grid reliability. In contrast, Republicans see the U.S.’s nuclear strength as a crucial geopolitical power that addresses both energy security and national security, as we increasingly compete with Russia and China for influence over the energy-hungry developing world. These extraordinarily different sets of political priorities are entirely aligned in the center—on the need to improve and expand US nuclear power.

Nuclear energy, once seen as a threat to humanity, is emerging as crucial to reducing the much bigger threats we face—namely climate change and the threatening power of fossil fuel-enriched totalitarian regimes tying energy access with influence. Defanging these regimes by reducing global use of fossil fuels goes hand-in-hand with solving climate change. Using nuclear power to achieve this has gained widespread supported. Recent polls also show nuclear’s increasing public popularity, with support strongest among those most knowledgeable. Which have fortunately included both Democratic and Republican presidents, all determined to see that next-generation nuclear—promising smaller, safer, flexible and affordable designs—has a chance to accelerate the world’s transition away from fossil fuel dependence. In that, there’s a lot to agree on.