THE ROLE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY IN MEETING U.S. CLEAN ENERGY GOALS

Thursday, March 28 – Noon-1:30pm

2060 Rayburn House Office Building

Lunch will be served

Members of Congress: 

Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Co-Chair, House R&D Caucus (Invited)

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16) (Invited)

Moderator:

Bob Stakenborghs, P.E., ASME Energy Conversion and Storage Segment

Panelists:

• Suzanne Jaworowski, Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy
• Josh Freed, Vice President of Clean Energy, Third Way
• Spencer Nelson, Director, Nuclear and Innovation Program, ClearPath
• David Brown, Senior Vice President, Federal Government Affairs, Exelon

Briefing Overview: 

Despite nearly a decade of rapid growth in wind and solar deployment, nuclear energy remains the largest source of low-carbon electricity generation in the United States, providing 54% of low-carbon generation and about one-fifth of total U.S. electric generation. By 2030, as many as 40 of current 98 reactors in the United States may retire, shrinking the share of low-carbon generation from nuclear energy by as much as half. Because nuclear energy provides important base-load generation services for intermittent electricity sources like wind, solar, and other renewables, environmental and energy experts agree that this dramatic reduction in the single largest source of carbon-free electricity will create significant near-term challenges for reducing carbon emissions in the energy sector.

This briefing will provide an overview of the state of the nuclear industry globally, the characteristics and role of nuclear energy in the modern electricity grid, and a discussion of factors for public policy makers to weigh as Congress considers strategies to develop new low-carbon emission energy technologies, meet rising domestic demand for clean, reliable, and affordable electricity, and substantially reduce global carbon emissions.