Governments and people throughout the world are seeking access to additional, affordable energy. Countries throughout Europe have now abandoned their plans to shutter coal-fired energy plants as they work to mitigate the risk of rolling blackouts. Cooler weather is on the horizon and Europeans are concerned they won’t be able to keep the heat on this winter. This shock, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is set to delay Western countries’ plans to decarbonize their energy sectors by years.
In order to prevent future crises and reach their decarbonization goals, European countries and the U.S. should consider building new nuclear reactors. Nuclear power is safe, reliable, and low-carbon. The federal government has recently affirmed its support for nuclear power in the Inflation Reduction Act by allocating subsidies to encourage the building of new plants. Unfortunately, however, Congress did not reduce regulatory barriers for doing so.
<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1668313279208,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000162-07b6-de22-a173-2ffe05de0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1668313279208,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000162-07b6-de22-a173-2ffe05de0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
