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Given that manufacturers use one-third of all U.S. energy, it is essential that they are provided with the opportunities to produce and utilize every available source of it—including and especially nuclear power, the NAM told the House ahead of a Wednesday hearing.

What’s going on: With global energy demand surging and only expected to grow in the coming years, the U.S., as operator of the world’s largest nuclear power plant fleet, is poised to “meet this critical moment” in developing clean, abundant and safe baseload power, NAM Director of Energy and Resources Policy Michael Davin and NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen told House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH) and Ranking Member Kathy Castor (D-FL) on Wednesday.

Busy week for nuclear: The past few days have been important ones for the energy source.

• This week’s three-bill “minibus” package, the text of which was released on Monday, includes several nuclear provisions, including $150 million in loan guarantees to build small modular or advanced nuclear reactors and continued funding for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program and the Advanced Nuclear Fuel Availability Program.
• In addition, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons voiced the organization’s support for the administration’s Monday announcement that it will award some $2.7 billion to three firms “to support uranium enrichment for nuclear energy” (The Hill).

Nuclear is necessary: In testimony at the hearing, manufacturing executives explained why nuclear power is such a critical energy source for the U.S.

• “Nuclear’s always-on capability, stable operating costs and lower transmission needs contribute to lower overall system costs for consumers,” Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Maria Korsnick told the subcommittee. “Nuclear power is a solution to the energy and national security challenges that we face,” she continued, adding that today, 94 reactors in 28 states provide one-fifth of U.S. electricity and nearly half of all clean generation in the country.
• Said Southern Company Senior Vice President of Technical Services and External Affairs John Williams, “The safe and economic development of new nuclear power is essential to maintaining the United States’ global energy dominance policy.”

What should be done: There are several steps Congress should take to best support the growth of nuclear power in the U.S., Davin and Phalen said. These include:

• “Lay[ing] the statutory groundwork to support … partnerships that will make it easier and more cost-effective to construct, deploy and operate traditional nuclear-generating stations and to train the skilled workforce that is necessary to make these proposals a reality”;
• Continuing to conduct oversight to ensure the ADVANCE Act—passed in 2024 and aimed at speeding up the development and commercialization of advanced nuclear reactor technology—“is implemented as intended”; and
• Keeping a watchful eye on “the implementation of the Nuclear Fuel Security Act and the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act to ensure these programs are being carried out as Congress intended and to ensure there will be no gaps in access to nuclear fuel.”