Electricity policy is economic policy: the race for reliable power

This is a clear lesson that a nation cannot subsidize its way out its poor electricity policy. Reliable electricity is not optional infrastructure, it is the foundation upon which modern economies operate and citizens of the economy are able to access and sell goods and services essential to modern life.

There are debates about the effectiveness and limitations of wind and solar generated electricity dependent on favorable weather conditions in addressing South Africa's long-term electricity challenges. What is beyond dispute, however, is that intermittent generation alone cannot fully replace dependable baseload power in a modern industrial economy. Manufacturing plants, hospitals, mines, transportation systems, data centers, and AI infrastructure require electricity every hour of every day, regardless of weather conditions.

The reality of the limitations of wind and solar generated electricity has profound implications for the United States and the World. America's future competitiveness will increasingly depend on an abundance of electricity. Artificial intelligence systems, semiconductor fabrication facilities, advanced manufacturing plants, and reshored supply chains will require unprecedented amounts of reliable electricity. Meeting those demands with intermittent resources alone will be difficult and increasingly expensive. As experienced in South Africa, Germany and even California. South Africa's electricity prices have risen over 900% over the last two decades, a case study that should not be ignored when considering national sovereignty. South Africa and America have deep ties in both electricity and industrialization, with Anglo American, Hendrik Vanderbijl and various other endeavors, including Koeberg and the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor project, alongside countries like the US, France and Germany at the time. When the base factors of production (mining, mineral processing, energy) are outsourced to other countries, the result is dependency. This needs to be addressed as a matter of policy forth with.

Nuclear generated electricity offers a different path: Advanced reactors, small modular reactors, and next-generation fuel cycle technologies can provide continuous baseload power while reducing emissions and strengthening electricity security. Equally important, innovations in spent fuel management have the potential to transform what many view as a liability into a strategic asset.Rather than treating spent nuclear fuel as a long-term burden, the United States should invest in technologies that can recycle, reprocess, and extract additional energy value from existing fuel inventories. Such efforts would strengthen domestic electricity independence, reduce waste challenges, and create entirely new industrial sectors. There are substantial efforts underway in France and Asia and US interests are well aligned to capitalize on the opportunity when policy makers, States and industry align.

Partnerships are essential: Governments should not attempt to become the operator, designer, and financier of every solution. Instead, it should create an environment where entrepreneurs, engineers, utilities, and investors can compete to deliver results. Public support should be tied to milestones, performance, and measurable outcomes rather than political promises, and politicians willing to champion pragmatic electricity policies will ultimately help unlock a new era of prosperity. Affordable and abundant electricity does more than keep lights on, it attracts investment, increases productivity, supports higher wages, strengthens national security, and expands economic opportunity.Abundant power leads to expanding industry and expanding industry leads to economic growth, which ultimately creates thriving communities.

The United States, despite watching the world's 80 nuclear reactors under construction around the globe, together with its partners, has the technology, capital markets, engineering expertise, and industrial capacity to lead the world in nuclear innovation. The question is whether policymakers will choose a path defined by partnerships, accountability, and results. If they do, the reward may just be an age of genuine abundance powered by the most important resource of all, reliable electricity.