Nuclear Energy: Pathways and Requirements for Global Scale-Up, and the Role of U.S. Policy

The document asserts that nuclear energy is essential for a decarbonized global energy system to provide 'clean firm' power, reducing reliance on over-built variable renewables and expensive long-duration storage. It identifies a 'profoundly dysfunctional' current delivery model characterized by high costs and delays, exemplified by the Vogtle 3 and 4 projects in Georgia. To achieve a target build rate of hundreds of Gigawatts per year, the author proposes transitioning from bespoke construction projects to standardized, commoditized 'products' with capital costs below $4,000/kw and delivery times of 3-5 years. Key recommendations for U.S. policy include reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to adopt performance-based licensing, establishing a 'sandbox' for testing new designs, creating an International Bank for Nuclear Infrastructure, and ensuring the domestic availability of high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU).

• Nuclear energy is presented as a critical 'clean firm' generation source that complements variable renewables like wind and solar, which are weather-dependent and cannot alone maintain grid reliability without excessive costs in storage and transmission.
• A transition relying solely on wind and solar would be significantly more expensive and land-intensive; nuclear power is nearly 20 times more land efficient than wind and nearly 300 times more than solar.
• Current Western nuclear projects are plagued by extreme cost overruns and delays, such as the Vogtle 3 and 4 plants in Georgia, which were 'a half decade late and two times over budget'.
• To make nuclear energy viable for global climate goals, the industry must shift from 'bespoke and complicated construction “projects”' to standardized, commoditized products with a target cost of $4,000/kw or less and delivery times of 3-5 years.
• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is criticized for using prescriptive licensing (Parts 50 and 52) that is ill-suited for advanced reactors; the author advocates for a 'technology-inclusive, risk-informed, performance-based regulatory framework'.
• Global expansion is hindered by a lack of harmonized licensing; the author proposes a multi-national Design Acceptance Certificate (DAC) and an International Technical Support Organization (ITSO) to help newcomer countries.
• The U.S. currently lacks a commercial source of high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU), with Russia being the only global commercial source, which threatens the deployment of advanced reactor designs.
• The document recommends a 'whole-of-government' approach to repurpose retired fossil fuel generation sites for new nuclear build to leverage existing transmission and community support.
• The author argues that current low-dose radiation standards are based on the 'questionable' Linear-No-Threshold (LNT) model and calls for new research to establish scientifically grounded safety regulations.

APA

Cohen, A. (2023). Nuclear Energy: Pathways and Requirements for Global Scale-Up, and the Role of U.S. Policy. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/18123912/house-energy-commerce-armond-cohen-testimony-april-2023.pdf

Chicago

Cohen, Armond. Nuclear Energy: Pathways and Requirements for Global Scale-Up, and the Role of U.S. Policy. Clean Air Task Force, 2023. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/18123912/house-energy-commerce-armond-cohen-testimony-april-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Cohen |first1=Armond |title=Nuclear Energy: Pathways and Requirements for Global Scale-Up, and the Role of U.S. Policy |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=18 April 2023 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/18123912/house-energy-commerce-armond-cohen-testimony-april-2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{cohen2023nuclear, author = {Cohen, Armond}, title = {{Nuclear Energy: Pathways and Requirements for Global Scale-Up, and the Role of U.S. Policy}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/18123912/house-energy-commerce-armond-cohen-testimony-april-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }