Nuclear Energy and American Leadership

The Commission on Nuclear Energy and American Leadership argues that reliable nuclear energy is essential for the US energy future, particularly to meet surging electricity demands from artificial intelligence and to reduce emissions. The report outlines a comprehensive 'game plan' for the next presidential administration, including a 'Day One' mandate to coordinate an all-of-government approach and a detailed set of actions for the first 100 days and first year. Key recommendations include increasing domestic uranium enrichment to end reliance on Russia, deploying advanced reactors for military and government sites, expanding nuclear exports to counter Chinese and Russian influence, and reforming multilateral development banks to support nuclear financing.

• The United States has lost global leadership in nuclear energy, while Russia and China are aggressively building new reactors and leveraging demand for commercial and geostrategic advantage. Between 2012 and 2024, the US saw 12 reactors retire prematurely.
• There is an urgent need for emissions-free energy to power the 'data economy,' specifically the ballooning power requirements of artificial intelligence and associated data centers, which the US is currently poorly equipped to handle.
• The US must eliminate its dependency on foreign state-owned enterprises for the nuclear fuel cycle, specifically banning Russian low-enriched uranium imports by 2028 and establishing domestic uranium enrichment capabilities.
• To counter the 'build/own/operate' model of Russia's Rosatom and China's Belt and Road initiative, the US should use the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to provide more comprehensive financing for nuclear exports, with potential market revenues reaching $1.9 trillion by 2050.
• The report recommends the US government procure and deploy advanced nuclear reactors at federal sites requiring at least 100 megawatts of capacity, aiming for at least ten reactors by 2032.
• The US Department of Defense should deploy at least ten small and micro nuclear reactors to increase the resilience of military bases against energy supply disruptions.
• Multilateral development banks, specifically the World Bank, are urged to reverse their opposition to financing nuclear projects to enable countries to meet the COP28 pledge to triple nuclear capacity by 2050.

APA

Goodman, S., & Poneman, D. (2024). Nuclear Energy and American Leadership. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/12/10/nuclear-energy-american-leadership/

Chicago

Goodman, Sherri, and Daniel Poneman. Nuclear Energy and American Leadership. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2024. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/12/10/nuclear-energy-american-leadership/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Goodman |first1=Sherri |last2=Poneman |first2=Daniel |title=Nuclear Energy and American Leadership |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=10 December 2024 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/12/10/nuclear-energy-american-leadership/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{goodman2024nuclear, author = {Goodman, Sherri and Poneman, Daniel}, title = {{Nuclear Energy and American Leadership}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/12/10/nuclear-energy-american-leadership/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }