Last month ECA, in conjunction with the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy and Idaho National Laboratory, hosted the fourth annual ECA Forum:
Moving New Nuclear Projects Forward. The premiere event was a successful Forum that brought together DOE, federal, state, local and tribal governments and policymakers with developers, utilities, regulators, industry, and academia. Participants from these various fields worked together to identify the opportunities, challenges partnerships necessary to support new nuclear development. Attendees included Congressman Mike Simpson of Idaho (ID-2), Dr. Michael Goff, Director of the Office of Nuclear Energy, David Wright, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and many other officials and leaders from local government, the
nuclear field and private industry.
Miss the ECA Forum? We have put together videos from Idaho Falls for all to watch. Whether you missed a session or the whole event, check out the important conversations our members are having about new nuclear. Click here to see the ECA Forum: Moving New Nuclear Projects Forward Resource Page! The page hosts a variety of resources to exhibited at the Forum, including a participants list and session-by-session breakdowns of speaker bios, presentations, and recordings of the proceedings.
See some of the highlights below!
Keynote: Congressman Mike Simpson
“Whether or not you want to be a part of the nuclear future – you are a part of the nuclear future.”
To kick off the first full day of the Forum, Congressman Mike Simpson, who represents Idaho Falls, Butte County, and much of the area around Eastern Idaho
(ID-2), provided a kickoff keynote address. In his address, Simpson made it clear that he believes nuclear energy is the future of economic growth for our communities and for our country, and he highlighted the critical role Idaho National Laboratory, and the communities who support it, play in accelerating new nuclear development. Simpson emphasized that community engagement with organizations like ECA, in addition to their local and state delegations, is key to acquiring the resources and
know-how necessary to get involved with nuclear.
View Congressman Simpson’s full keynote here.
U.S. DOE Leadership: Dr. Michael Goff
In a session dedicated to the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, Dr. Mike Goff, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of NE, described the many programs and initiatives the Office is managing to promote nuclear development. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth in solicitations for small modular reactors (SMRs), to historic allocations of high assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to private industry, to Idaho National Laboratory’s
Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) program, and even loan disbursements to support the restart of nuclear power plants, DOE-NE is involved in a variety of impact-driving initiatives to deploy and enable the development of nuclear power.
View Dr. Goff’s full remarks here.
Planning, Licensing, and Risk Reduction: A View from the NRC
David Wright, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), identified his main priorities for the NRC. Wright wants to identify and fill technical gaps within the NRC; keep the NRC committed to protecting
environmental and public safety, and to align the NRC with the ADVANCE Act. Wright also spoke on the workforce needs of the NRC, his plans to bolster cooperation between the NRC; DOE; and the Department of Defense, and his approach to ensuring the NRC remains committed to its mission to support international markets.
View Chairman Wright’s full remarks here.
Every session recording will be available on ECA’s YouTube channel as well. We hope that access to these resources will further promote the Forum’s mission identify opportunities, challenges partnerships necessary to support new nuclear development. Stay on the lookout for a full
summary of this year’s ECA forum later this week. To learn more about ECA’s New Nuclear Initiative, visit our website!
