Introduced by Boise State Senior Advisor for Government Relations Mr. Peter Risse, United States Senator James Risch (R-ID) laid out his vision of the “state of play” in the global nuclear power industry, with the United States, the progenitor of nuclear power, facing challenges to its position as the global nuclear leader. Senator Risch highlighted the opportunities associated with nuclear, and what America risks if it does not take the initiative in global nuclear technology once again.
In his keynote address following lunch on the first day of the Mountain West Competitiveness Conversation, United States Senator James Risch (R-ID) began by reminding the participants that economic competitiveness was not a political issue. While national political discourse has become increasingly polarized in recent years, all of the nation’s political leaders, regardless of party affiliation, want the United States to be competitive, innovative, and world-leading. To that end, there has been successful, bipartisan progress made on a host of competitiveness issues, though these successes have not been as well publicized as the many higher-profile political fault lines that exist today.
Nuclear technology was born in Idaho and may yet have its future in the state. From a few lightbulbs lit by an experimental reactor at Idaho National Laboratory in December 1951, the nuclear industry in the United States has come a long way. The nuclear power sector flourished in the half-century following that initial experiment, with Idaho National Laboratory remaining the flagship lab for the American nuclear industry. Since then, the lab has built more than fifty experimental reactors of all kinds, with more yet still to come. These experimental reactors, including microreactors and modular mobile reactors, promise to pave the way for a new golden age of nuclear power in the United States. Although there has never been an operating commercial nuclear plant within the state itself, the future of the nuclear industry in Idaho looks bright.
However, Senator Risch cautioned participants that it would not be a straight line toward a renewed nuclear power sector in the United States. To date, the United States has built 103 commercial nuclear reactors for energy generation, a number that, in his opinion, should be higher. However, the expansion was curtailed by the emergence of a strong bias against nuclear power due to safety concerns. Following the Three Mile Island incident and disasters in Chernobyl and Fukushima, many turned against nuclear. Senator Risch doesn’t believe that these fears were founded; he himself bore witness to the 1999 Taiwan earthquake where, despite the severe disaster, the island suffered no incidents at its three nuclear facilities. Today, as we are further removed from historical disasters, safety standards have improved, and the need for clean energy continues to grow, the biases against nuclear power are beginning to fade, potentially paving the way for a nuclear renaissance in the United States.
The global nuclear power market is of critical importance, and the United States faces major competition from unfriendly nations. While the domestic nuclear power industry in the United States may be on the verge of a new golden age, the global nuclear power industry is already at a new peak of activity. As a host of nations worldwide industrialize and find themselves in need of greater power requirements, nuclear energy has become an attractive option. However, very few nations are capable of supporting a domestic nuclear power industry without significant international support and contracting, and competition over these projects has become a new battleground of geopolitical competition. Beyond the moneymaking potential of foreign contracts to build nuclear plants, a partnership to create a nuclear plant automatically creates a decades-long relationship between the nation building and the nation buying the plant, as these contracts almost always include provisions for sustained maintenance and even operations, if the host country cannot do so with domestic workers.
While the United States invented nuclear technology, several other nations have developed robust, independent nuclear power sectors. While the mature and sophisticated French nuclear sector may be an economic competitor, the nuclear power industries in Russia and China turn the global nuclear power sector into a front in the broader competition between democratic and autocratic systems.
According to Senator Risch, China and Russia have honed their nuclear power industries as a tool of statecraft. They have several advantages over the U.S. nuclear industry. First, while the U.S. nuclear sector is driven by private corporations bidding on foreign projects out of a profit motive, Russian and Chinese bids are state-backed and heavily subsidized, making it easy for them to undercut American bids without similar government support. Further, American bids, to be approved, are legally required to implement “123 agreements.” These agreements, a product of nonproliferation concerns, requires host countries to take restrictive steps to ensure that nuclear technologies are not exported. Russian and Chinese bids do not have such stringent requirements, meaning that, while they end up being a greater proliferation concern, they may be more attractive to states interested in nuclear construction.
“To date, the US has set the world's standards on nuclear safety and nonproliferation. We do so in part by building nuclear power plants in other countries where, with our technology, we export our values and our standards. As Americans, we should not abdicate our world leadership in that regard. We cannot march backwards on nuclear energy, and the global community cannot accept standards set by problematic regimes like Beijing and Moscow. The United States has no choice but to move with urgency, or we will continue to suffer significant economic losses while risking global security.“
The Hon. James Risch
United States Senator (R-ID)
But the American nuclear industry has its advantages. Its technology is superior to competitors, and strong American rule of law means that projects are more likely to be completed without unexpected delays and strong arming. But these advantages are not enough, as Russia and China currently control 87% of the global nuclear market.
The United States needs to reform its nuclear strategy to take full advantage of the renewed interest in nuclear power. While new technologies and increasing demand have made nuclear energy a more attractive investment, Senator Risch believes there is still much more to be done to make sure we are ready to take advantage of this momentum. First and foremost, the existing nuclear fleet, which has an average age of 42 years, needs investment to ensure that existing facilities remain online. Secondly, regulations surrounding nuclear power need to be updated to handle the growth of new technologies. The Senator touted bipartisan legislation to improve nuclear regulation. Finally, the United States remains critically vulnerable in its supply of uranium to fuel its reactors. Today, much of the supply of fuel for the U.S. nuclear power industry is sourced abroad, with a large percentage even coming from Russia. This is, according to the Senator, an unacceptable vulnerability that must be fixed immediately, which is why he helped stand up a Department of Energy program to address this potential hazard.
To conclude, the Senator reminded participants of the enormous value nuclear power could bring to the United States. Nuclear energy is America’s creation and, in Senator Risch’s view, powered America’s ascent. It may yet be able to power the reshoring of American manufacturing and a new economic golden age for the country.
