A Win-Win Energy Agenda For America

Energy is a top-tier issue at home and around the world. It is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, a key resource for trade and American influence around the world. It is inextricably linked to sustainability and is at the center of global concern surrounding climate change. U.S. electricity generation must increase to meet a range of critical challenges and opportunities facing the nation: the push for transportation electrification, support for the repatriation and revitalization of U.S. manufacturing, and power for the vast expansion of data centers needed to drive the transformative AI boom. Increasing sustainable and secure energy production is a national imperative, while U.S. leaders launch a movement for U.S. energy independence and dominance.

Recently, the Council’s National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers issued a Call to Action supported by seven strategic pillars and more than 50 concrete actionable policy recommendations. Pillar 4’s set of recommendations call for Expanding the Nation’s Transition to Energy Abundance, Security, and Sustainability. Five key areas of action are high priorities for the future of U.S. productivity, prosperity, and national security:

First, launch a “nuclear moonshot” to bring next-generation nuclear energy to scale. Nuclear energy offers now – not in the distant future – a viable, tested pathway to carbon free, baseload power. Nuclear has the lowest carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions per megawatt-hour, the lowest land use, and the highest capacity factor of any major generating energy source.[i] For example, a typical commercial nuclear reactor provides the clean energy equivalent of more than 3 million solar panels or more than 430 utility-scale wind turbines. A 1,000-megawatt nuclear facility needs about one square mile to operate, while wind farms require 360 times more land to produce the same amount of electricity and solar PV plants require 75 times more space.^[ii]

The potential exists to deploy Generation IV reactors within the coming decade. They are economically competitive, safe, and produce minimal waste.^[iii] Small modular nuclear reactors are factory-built-and-assembled, plug-and-play modules that users could array in a variety of configurations. Hundreds of sites of retired coal power plants have the potential to host an advanced nuclear reactor.

The United States should fuel a nuclear energy moonshot to accelerate next-gen nuclear technologies and turbo-charge deployment of this clean, baseload energy. This includes: establishing supply chains for domestic supply and fabrication of high-assay low-enriched uranium, developing new financing models and strategies for exporting, boosting programs at universities and technical schools to train additional workers for the industry; and, substantially increasing the speed of licensing at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and NEPA environmental review.

I also want to signal a very significant, game-changing opportunity that is, at the moment, ours to attain: leveraging U.S. scientific advancements in fusion with significant investments – public and private – to bring fusion power to large-scale development with a comprehensive commercial deployment strategy. This is exactly what Council on Competitiveness Executive Committee Member Dr. Suresh Garimella, President of the University of Arizona, and the University’s Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation, Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, call for in a recent, powerful op-ed in which they further state, “At a time when Washington is focused on budget cuts and government downsizing, one investment remains non-negotiable for America’s future: fusion energy.”

Second, use all sources of domestic energy sustainably. The United States is blessed with an abundance of energy resources—natural gas, coal, oil, solar, wind, water, biomass, and geothermal—and our relatively low energy costs are one of our greatest competitive advantages. To maintain this competitive edge as our energy needs grow and to ensure U.S. energy security, the United States must adopt a holistic energy strategy that incorporates all its domestic energy resources while tapping them in the most sustainable and environmentally responsible ways possible.

Advancements in carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies can dramatically reduce the environmental impact of using natural gas, and enable more sustainable use of natural gas as a “bridge fuel” to cleaner energy for power generation and industrial use. Deploying smart grid technologies can enhance energy distribution efficiency, reducing waste and improving the integration of renewable energy with traditional fossil fuel sources.

Third, build a national transmission superhighway and smart, self-healing electric grid. The superhighway would move large quantities of electricity from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar in remote locations, to urban and industrial centers with high energy demand. Tapping distributed and a greater diversity of energy resources would contribute to greater energy security and reliability. Moreover, a smart grid system would make it easier to integrate intermittent renewable energy across the Nation, and it would be more resilient to natural disasters, cyber-attacks, and other potential threats. The self-healing capability would enable the grid quickly to isolate and repair faults, reduce the time needed to restore power after outages, and prevent blackouts—reducing the impacts of energy disruptions.

Fourth, accelerate and reward energy efficiency and productivity. Energy efficiency is the cheapest source of energy we have, and opportunities for greater energy efficiency are widespread—anything electrified, motorized, heated, or cooled. By promoting energy efficiency – and even beyond that, actual energy productivity – across industries, residential sectors, and transportation, the United States can reduce energy consumption, lower costs, and minimize greenhouse gas emissions, all while fostering innovation and creating new job opportunities. For example, industry can achieve significant savings through energy-efficient manufacturing technologies and processes, such as advanced heat recovery, smart motors, and LED lighting. Government plays a crucial role in establishing energy efficiency standards. By rewarding companies that meet and exceed these standards with financial bonuses and tax relief, we can also drive a market that accelerates energy efficiency innovation and its adoption.

Fifth, mobilize and train a world-class energy workforce. To meet the need for skilled workers in the energy sector, government should partner with private companies, labor unions, and educational institutions to create training programs from technician level to high level engineering. These partnerships can ensure that the workforce is trained in the latest energy technologies, including boosting the workforce for a nuclear energy renaissance.

It’s a win-win energy agenda. We have a golden opportunity to leverage our energy resources, advanced energy technologies, and skilled workforce to improve productivity, boost our competitiveness with lower cost energy, meet our growing needs for electricity, enhance sustainability, and meet the call for American energy independence.

[i] Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear, U.S. Department of Energy, September 2024.

[ii] 3 Reasons Nuclear is Clean and Sustainable, and INFOGRAPHIC: How Much Power Does a Nuclear Reactor Produce? Office of Nuclear Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, June 2022, and July 2022.

[iii] Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear, U.S. Department of Energy, September 2024.