Recent Developments in Commercial Nuclear Energy 

Moderator: Isabella Ruble
Speakers: Nobuo Tanaka, Erica Bickford, Georg Erdmann, and Jack Spencer
In the current global energy and climate crisis, nuclear power can play an increasingly important role worldwide. The distinguished panel of speakers will discuss several recent, distinct but related topics in commercial nuclear energy and take questions from the audience. This will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of the industry and shed some light on the challenges and opportunities going forward. Mr. Tanaka will present four additional conditions that were identified to make nuclear power more sustainable after the Fukushima accident. He will touch upon the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs), the management of toxic waste, proliferation resistance, and socio-political sustainability. Dr. Erica Bickford will focus on the U.S. Department of Energy’s current consent-based siting efforts for a federal consolidated interim storage capability. Prof. Dr. Georg Erdmann will explain why the interaction between the nuclear industry, research and development, as well as regulation in Europe in the 1980s and 1990s led to delays in the development of small modular reactor technology. Mr. Spencer will promote the building of a uniquely American nuclear industry that is independent of government support and that can supply the United States and the world with reliable, affordable, and clean energy. This implies the need to rethink how we regulate nuclear energy and require reforming nuclear waste management around market forces.