BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
Major budget and stimulus measures expected in the coming weeks
ECA Staff | 12/21/2020
Recapping the weekend:
Over the weekend, Congress passed two stopgap spending bills to buy more time for an omnibus appropriations agreement. Fiscal Year 2020 funding was originally set to expire on December 11. Since then, a series of continuing resolutions has held government funding steady at the FY 2020 levels as
Congress works to finalize an FY 2021 agreement.
On Sunday night, Congressional leaders came to an agreement for another stimulus bill. While initial negotiations included billions in additional aid for state and local governments, the final agreement will not include such assistance.
Expected in the weeks ahead:
Congress is expected to vote on an omnibus appropriations bill (including Department of Energy funding) this week, which will fund federal agencies through September 2021.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 is still sitting on President Trump’s desk. If the President does not veto the bill by December 23, it will become law without his signature. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) stated, “It seems to me what he's doing is waiting until the 23rd.” A
White House official said President Trump may still veto the bill before the 23rd.
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NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT
Top Nine U.S. Cities to Benefit from Public Investments in Nuclear Energy
LinkedIn | 12/1/2020
What nine U.S. cities will benefit most from investments in clean nuclear energy? Innovation districts, research parks, cluster associations & open campuses – this brief article reviews the new book “Jump-starting America” (www.jump-startingamerica.com) through the lens of #NuclearEnergy
“Jump-Starting America” begins by outlining the technological advances made through government R&D funding, once 2% of GDP, now only 0.6% of GDP. The historic case for public funding in innovation is well known: NASA, GPS, supercomputing, semiconductors & nuclear energy.
The past success of tax-payer-funded R&D, venture capital’s unwillingness to fund capital-intensive/long-run projects, income inequality, and today’s policy evolutions towards Modern Monetary Theory #MMT, set the stage for the next leg of public investment in innovation.
Decades of investment have been sown in America’s coastlines, in proximation to strong financial, political, educational, and venture capital hubs, resulting in exclusionary cost of living dynamics. What other corners of America have time, talent & are now in need of treasure?
With overlaying the 102 best cities in America for innovation investments, according to “Jump-Starting America”, with existing nuclear energy supply chains, university programs & infrastructures. The top nine #TechHub candidates, with existing nuclear resources, in rank order are:
- #2 Pittsburgh, PA - Anchored by Westinghouse, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon & the Bettis Atomic Power Lab, Pittsburgh is surrounded by many nuclear industry service companies
- #16 Albany, NY - The surrounding area houses Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory as well as nuclear engineering programs at both Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Excelsior College
- #44 Knoxville, TN - Oak Ridge National Lab, University of Tennessee’s nuclear engineering programs (traditional fission or radiological concentrations), TVA’s Watts Bar nuclear power plant, and numerous supply chain vendors all anchor eastern TN
- #62 Albuquerque, NM - Albuquerque has two anchoring DOE Labs and the #nuclearengineering program at the University of NM. Kairos Power has chosen Albuquerque as its home for a new engineering center to support the development of its advanced reactor technology
- #66 Columbia, SC - Regionally tied to DOE’s Savannah River Site and the V.C. Summer nuclear station, Columbia is anchored to the University of SC’s nuclear engineering program and a host of nuclear industry supply chain vendors
- #73 Idaho Falls, ID - The National Reactor Innovation Center, located at DOE’s INL, will accelerate the demonstration/deployment of advanced nuclear energy technologies. Future home to NuScale & @Oklo power reactors
- #93 Richland, WA - Home to DOE’s Hanford and PNNL sites, clean-up, nuclear waste management & Office of Science missions are executed. Richland is also rumored to host Bellevue-based Terra Power’s next-gen nuclear power plant
- #97 Lynchburg, VA - Home of BWX Technologies, Inc., a leading supplier of nuclear components and fuel to the U.S. government and the commercial nuclear power industry. BWXT’s future role in all-things-nuclear cannot be overstated
- #98 Johnson City, TN - Rounding out list, Johnson City hosts BWXT’s nuclear fuel services plant just to the south. NFS is one of two locations licensed by the NRC to process highly enriched #uranium, critical to fuel next-gen advanced reactors 98 Johnson City, TN: Rounding out list, Johnson City hosts BWXT’s nuclear fuel services plant just to the south. NFS is one of two
locations licensed by the NRC to process highly enriched #uranium, critical to fuel next-gen advanced reactors.
CONTRACT
SMALL MODULAR REACTORS
Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
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Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local
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