ECA Forum to bring together key actors in hosting new nuclear development
ECA Staff | 4/28/2022
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Recognizing the opportunity to address goals shared broadly among U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program offices and in frontline communities across the federal nuclear complex, the Energy Communities Alliance will host the ECA Forum: Hosting New Nuclear Development (Forum), August 3-5, 2022 at the Marriot University Park in Salt Lake City, Utah.
As the Country pursues an all-of-the-above energy strategy, moving toward energy independence and working to mitigate the impacts of climate change, support for nuclear energy continues to grow. There is great potential for nuclear energy to deliver dependable baseload power alongside renewables, create jobs, rebuild the nuclear manufacturing supply chain, power hybrid energy systems for industry, and explore space propulsion.
New and advanced nuclear technologies like small modular reactors, microreactors, fast-neutron reactors, and accident-tolerant fuels are being developed that promise to be smaller, simpler, safer and, importantly, economically competitive.
For these “new nuclear” projects – many of them first-of-a-kind – to be commercially-viable and successfully deployed, each project must be integrated into its host community with alignment around key issues: marketing, financing, siting, workforce, and planning. Each project must be located at a site that supports the mission and has the required federal and private funding, regulatory assurance, demand for the electrons being generated, availability of related
goods and services, and, most importantly, partnerships at all levels of government.
Examples of how these partnerships drive success can be seen in communities around the Country, specifically those that have long supported federal nuclear missions. Local governments in these communities are eager to support the new generation of nuclear technologies, realize the myriad benefits these projects bring with them, and see successful demonstrations become widespread commercial deployment.
To better understand how to match potential host community strengths and needs with those of advanced nuclear project developers, the Forum will:
- Provide a venue for nuclear technology and project developers to meet and interact with interested potential host communities, with exhibition booth spaces and separate, small meeting room availability.
- Share lessons learned from communities already hosting nuclear power facilities or federal nuclear missions and help outline what any local government needs to understand and should consider as potential hosts for nuclear projects.
- Facilitate discussions to better understand the outlook for new nuclear development and provide realistic timelines for local governments and economic development entities looking at siting, regulation, public-private partnerships and how to build support from the ground-up.
For more information on ECA’s Energy Communities forum on Hosting New Nuclear Development please visit www.energyca.org/events.
For questions, please contact Sarah Templeton, ECA Program Manager, at [email protected].
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Huff advanced out of Senate energy panel
ECA Staff | 4/28/2022
In a business meeting on Thursday, April 28, Dr. Kathryn Huff - the Administration's pick to head the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) - was advanced out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee by voice vote.
Dr. Huff was originally appointed last May as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary in the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) by the Biden Administration, and while awaiting confirmation to lead the Office, served as a Special Advisor to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
“I believe Dr. Huff is very well qualified for this important position," Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Committee said during the meeting. "She has the academic training, as a physicist and a nuclear engineer. She has extensive experience, as a graduate research assistant at the Argonne and Idaho National Laboratories, as a postdoctoral fellow at Berkeley, as a professor at the University of Illinois, and as a nuclear program manager for the
past year as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at the Department of Energy. She has demonstrated her ability to handle the job, both through her performance as the Acting Assistant Secretary over the past year and at her hearing, where she showed a firm grasp on the nuclear issues in answering the Committee’s questions. I strongly support her nomination and I urge a favorable vote to report her nomination."
The full business meeting may be viewed here.
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Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email [email protected].
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