Guido Núñez-Mujica at Persuasion:
Last Tuesday, President Biden signed into law America’s first comprehensive nuclear energy bill since 2005. The landmark ADVANCE Act provides incentives for new nuclear technologies, reduces licensing fees, offers prizes for deploying improved nuclear technologies, and extends protection from liability related to the nuclear industry through 2045. It’s a huge win for pro-nuclear advocates like me, and holds out the promise of abundant, reliable, safe energy that generates no carbon. In a rare sign of bipartisan agreement in these times of division, the ADVANCE act passed the Senate with a vote of 88-2 and passed the House by 393-13.
Even before the new law was signed, nuclear power was already making a comeback. Unit 4 in Georgia’s Vogtle Nuclear Power came online last April, a year after its twin reactor, Vogtle 3. Nuclear plants Diablo Canyon in California and Dresden in Illinois were saved from premature closures by rowdy pro-nuclear protesters, including your correspondent. Now, if the administration gets its way, these will be followed by a huge new raft of reactors. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm has said that to achieve its climate goals, the United States needs to triple its nuclear capacity and build 200 more reactors by 2050.
More here.
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