A 'new nuclear posture' for the US is vital in a hungry world

Delivery of affordable, abundant, reliable, available, and clean, electricity to customers is paramount to modern quality of life. Recent announcements of the proliferation of data centers demanding double, and even triple the electricity supply will stress the current infrastructure. It's time to stimulate conversations about unlimited electricity generation that is reliable, continuous, uninterruptable, and emissions free, to meet the needs of the end users.

Supplying such growth in demand for electricity is threatened by a vulnerable grid and the intermittency of low-density wind and solar electricity generation methods. The proven technology of nuclear power production is our only practical hope to keep up with the rapidly approaching demand.

Nuclear power has been providing electricity to the US Navy, France, and others around the world for almost 70 years. The technology is well-understood, and it boasts the best safety record of any industry (based on injury and death). The material left over from the current fleet of light-water reactors can be recycled to attain 30 times the electricity produced in the first time through. Such an advantage can provide energy security for billions around the world, greatly increase their quality of life, and relieve the fear of not having reliable and continuous electricity for all.

The Department of Energy's (DOE) continues to advocate nuclear power to provide dispatchable electricity at the lowest cost for consumers.

The recent September 2024 report from the DOE, "The Pathways to Commercial Liftoff report" summarizes advanced nuclear that includes a range of proven and innovative technologies, and defines three size categories (large, small, and micro) for reactor designs:

· Large: Fast breeder and Light Water reactors (generally ~1000 MW) are essential for bulk electricity production.

· Small modular reactors (SMRs) are generally considered ~50 to ~350 MW provide choices for individual customers.

· Microreactors could serve a variety of use cases where reliability, transportability, and compactness are highly valued.

Nuclear generated electricity is proliferating around the world:

· France has more than 50 nuclear power reactors producing more than 70% of France's electricity.

· Today, about 440 nuclear power reactors are in operation in 32 countriesand Taiwan, with 62 new reactors under construction. As of August 1, 2023, the United States had 54 nuclear power plants with 93 operating commercial nuclear reactors in 28 states. These plants generate about 20% of the country's electricity. Nuclear power has the competitive advantage of being the only baseload power source that can accommodate the desired expansion of a clean electricity supply to the end users that is emission free, continuous, and uninterruptible and timely.

· The nuclear power systems developed for the Navy have functioned well for over seven decades. All U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers are nuclear powered. Other military services are now getting on board. The Navy's seven-decade safety track record with nuclear generated electricity to support national security began before the formulation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and all its regulatory roadblocks.