Greetings!

In this issue, we highlight China’s approval to build four new nuclear reactors using a domestically developed design and South Korea’s move to open a new nuclear reactor for operation. We also note efforts by Bill Gates to encourage Congress to support nuclear energy and a recent report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that illustrates how states use foreign infrastructure to advance their strategic objectives.

Bill Gates recently visited Washington and invited the U.S. government to join in a vital joint venture to expand investment in next generation nuclear power, a technology he believes is “ ideal for dealing with climate change.”

Gates became a billionaire by predicting and serving the explosive market for personal computer software. His prescience helped catapult the U.S. as a global technology leader and both he and the country benefited greatly. Now he is a major investor in climate change response technologies, including an advanced reactor that is under development. He is willing to bring billions of his own money and raise even more from investors for this research area if the government significantly expands its commitment and financing.

The question is whether Washington can seize, or even see, the opportunity Gates has offered amid a striking crisis of strategic thinking in the Capitol. It may be difficult. We have an administration that is highly conflicted on the climate problem, freshman House members that see self-made billionaires as the public’s enemy , and enthusiasm for a nascent Green New Deal that is reality -challenged.

Gates’ initiative has already been doused with cold water . But next generation nuclear power is actually one of the few bipartisan issues in Washington that he has a foundation to build upon.

However, the future of nuclear power is burdened with an outdated policy framework and challenged by the expectation that market mechanisms alone can determine which energy technologies best serve the strategic goals of the nation.

An updated policy framework for the future of nuclear power has been developed by PGS. It identifies the contribution to reducing atmospheric carbon as a core argument for the technology. But the climate benefits alone are not sufficient to assure nuclear power’s future. It needs to be paired with three other key benefits to the U.S. – strengthening geopolitical competitiveness, prioritizing innovation and technology, and leading on global security and governance. Together those four pillars create a compelling case that is difficult to deny.

The soft spot for nuclear power is the financial challenge . Current reactors are very expensive, next generation reactors are still in the research phase, and finding private financing for either is tough. However, the time may now be right to rethink whether a purely market approach to nuclear finance is appropriate, just as Gates proposes.

Countries seeking to import major nuclear technologies want governments as participants in the deal. This was true in the case of the reactors South Korea sold to the UAE. It may be replicated in the vendor decision to be made by Saudi Arabia. Government financial backing is an integral element of Russia’s reactor export strategy and it is leading all other nations in this enterprise. China is following suit. The potential domination of the global nuclear market by two geopolitical competitors is creating mounting concern in the U.S. and allied nations.

The struggle over nuclear financing in the U.K. may offer a model for future private-public partnerships. In order to try to save two new reactors to be built as part of its carbon reduction plan, the U.K. government was willing to take a one-third in equity stake in the project and provide the debt financing to complete the construction.

Despite its appeal that offer didn’t work. But it did confirm a political reality - when a nation thinks a technology is in its core national interest it will find the funds for it. This has been the case in national defense for decades.

What Bill Gates is offering to Washington’s warring political class is an opportunity to join together in a large private-public initiative that is clearly in the nation’s interest. If successful it can contribute to carbon reduction, strengthen American technological innovation, and ensure that the country remains a leader in the global effort to prevent nuclear proliferation and improve nuclear governance.

This is a big picture proposal that rises above the small ball, zero-sum mentality that now dominates and debases our national debates.

 

Ken Luongo, President of Partnership for Global Security

A consortium led by Rolls-Royce has requested more than £200 million in government funding to help develop its project for small nuclear reactors in the UK. The UK government has said that it remains committed to developing nuclear plants with the private sector.

China has approved the construction of four new reactors using a domestically developed design. The deployment of China’s Hualong One reactor would end a more than two-year hiatus in approvals. 

South Korea’s atomic energy agency approved the operation of the Shin-Kori No. 4 nuclear power plant (NPP), which was completed more than a year and a half ago in 2017.

The Ministry of Energy in Kenya is seeking to have the country’s first nuclear power plant commissioned by 2027 and has started training some of its nuclear energy personnel in South Korea.

The government of Taiwan will publish a revised national energy strategy that will call for a phase-out of nuclear energy, despite citizens voting against the policy in a recent referendum.

The French nuclear industry signed a strategic contract with the French government and unions, covering the period 2019-2022. This contract will define a road-map and commitments between the industry, the state, and unions that will help build a future nuclear industry in the country and achieve high-stake nuclear projects.

Saudi Arabia has outlined ambitious plans for the development of nuclear energy in the country, which will play a big role in the fight against climate change for the Middle Eastern region. The IAEA Deputy Director General and head of the department of nuclear energy, stated that Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in the development of its nuclear power infrastructure.

Domestic Civil Nuclear Developments

Bill Gates is inviting Congress to invest billions of dollars over the next decade for pilot projects to test new designs for nuclear power reactors.

In Ohio, the new House Speaker, Larry Householder, voiced support for preserving Ohio's nuclear power plants, stating that nuclear energy is a tremendous source of zero-emissions energy.

In Pennsylvania, a local House Representative, Tom Mehaffie, is seeking co-sponsors for legislation aimed at preserving the Three Mile Island and four other NPPs in the state.

Noteworthy Research

Breakthrough Energy released a report titled "Advancing the Landscape of Clean Energy Innovation." This report explores how the U.S. can be at the forefront of the clean energy transition by offering a road-map to bringing to more reliable, low-emission energy technologies to the market.

The Reconnecting Asia program, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), recently published a report titled “Influence and Infrastructure: The Strategic Stake of Foreign Projects.” This illustrates how states use foreign infrastructure development and financing to advance strategic objectives.

According to a recent study from the University of Idaho and Boise State University, a proposal to build 12 small modular nuclear reactors at a U.S. Department of Energy’s site in eastern Idaho, could provide a significant boost to the local economy.

If Saving the Climate Requires Making Energy so Expensive, Why is French Electricity so Cheap?

February 5, 2019

A Sensible Climate Change Solution, Borrowed from Sweden

New York Times, February 5, 2019

Why We Should Listen to Bill Gates on Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy Institute, February 4, 2019

How Artificial Intelligence will Affect the Future of Energy and Climate

Brookings, January 10, 2019

For more than a decade, the Partnership for Global Security (PGS) has developed actionable responses to global security challenges by engaging international, private sector, and multidisciplinary expert partners to assess policy needs, identify effective strategies, and drive demonstrable results.