Since the advent of the Atomic Age, the United States has been the global leader in nuclear energy development. However, in recent years we have begun to fall behind our adversaries in the deployment of new nuclear generation. While Russia and China make strides in nuclear energy development, the United States falls behind. Although many factors play a role in our lagging nuclear development, if we are to restore leadership in nuclear advancement, we must improve America's regulatory structure to foster innovation, investment, and deployment.
In this new Congress, our priority is to unleash an all-of-the-above energy strategy through reforming and modernizing our nuclear regulatory structure to encourage deployment of innovative new nuclear technologies. As Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Chair, I recently convened a subcommittee hearing on "American Nuclear Energy Expansion: Powering a Clean and Secure Future" because I recognize the importance of nuclear energy development. A new era of nuclear technologies is on the horizon, and we need to identify the regulatory hurdles inhibiting nuclear energy expansion so we can accelerate nuclear deployment and innovation in the United States.
Leadership in nuclear energy is essential for our global competitiveness, national defense, clean energy future, and scientific advancement. Nuclear energy is safe, affordable, reliable rain or shine 24/7/365, and is the number-one source of emission-free power in the United States, providing 55 percent of the country's clean energy and 20 percent of the country's total electricity.
In my home state of South Carolina, the third-ranked state for nuclear power generation, nuclear energy provides over 90 percent of the state's carbon-free electricity and more than 50 percent of our state's total electricity, powering over four million households. From both an energy security and reliability perspective, nuclear energy is among the most resilient sources of power. Not only do our nuclear facilities provide clean energy for Americans, but they also play a crucial role in our national defense, bolstering the missions of the U.S. Navy and other parts of the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy.
In November, I released the Blueprint for Nuclear Innovation and Competitiveness, which lays out important steps to strengthen our national energy dominance and security through nuclear energy innovation. I hope my nuclear energy blueprint will serve as a guide for the 118th Congress to help facilitate conversations, direct energy policy, and ensure nuclear advancement is on the agenda, focusing on the realms of fuel, licensing and NRC modernization, financing, and spent nuclear fuel.
It is important for the United States to lead the world in nuclear energy. We have the technological and engineering talent to do it, but unfortunately, other countries have been outpacing our development. China, for example, has brought 21 reactors online in the past few years and has two dozen additional plants under construction. That's not to mention the 14 Chinese-designed reactors in various stages of development throughout the world. Russia is also gaining ground in the nuclear industry and had 16 Russian-designed reactors under construction around the world before the invasion of Ukraine.
Energy security is national security, and it is imperative for the United States to lead the way as other countries make strides in nuclear energy.
There is no doubt the United States has the capability to reclaim our position as a world leader in this area, but certain impediments are holding us back. The federal government must modernize its regulations to reassert the vision of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which declared the development of nuclear energy shall aim "to promote world peace, improve the general welfare, increase the standard of living, and strengthen free competition and private enterprise."
We must identify what makes sense for a modern regulator to function consistent with these goals, to assure efficient, predictable regulation that provides for a robust and growing nuclear industry.
The advancement of nuclear technology is vital for electricity production, but other less-publicized benefits are at play as well. Advanced nuclear technology is vital for cutting-edge, life-saving cancer treatment, as well as the economic and carbon-free production of hydrogen to fuel cars and trucks.
My nuclear energy blueprint identifies areas in the industry that must be reformed. From the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear relicensing, to the back end of the fuel cycle and recycling nuclear waste, to the many benefits of nuclear advancement, the nuclear energy blueprint offers a roadmap for modernizing our nuclear approval and oversight systems both now and into the future.
As our nation charts energy policy for the 21st century, nuclear must play a leading role to ensure global competitiveness and American energy dominance. Nuclear energy will no doubt play an essential role in the United States' clean energy future, and we must pave the way. I believe we can do it with bipartisan cooperation.
To unleash an all-of-the-above energy strategy and benefit from all the life-improving technologies nuclear offers, we must advance nuclear energy.
Jeff Duncan, a Republican, represents South Carolina's Third District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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