In 2024, the Atlantic Council’s Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative hosted Atoms for Appalachia, a series of private workshops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia, to identify opportunities and address challenges for the deployment of advanced nuclear energy. The workshops galvanized conversations at the federal, state, and local levels to discuss the potential for advanced nuclear energy to play a crucial role in the energy transition and in economic development. Advanced nuclear technologies can drive economic security and energy security within these states, especially by supporting a clean manufacturing base and creating workforce and educational opportunities.

It is imperative that discussions of opportunities and costs of a potential new nuclear project consider local wants and needs. An integrated, localized approach to nuclear development will enable economic opportunities for first-mover states as well as an honest assessment of the challenges to advancing nuclear deployment. States that deploy advanced nuclear technologies will face common challenges, like projecting workforce needs and attracting talent to the energy workforce; these challenges present opportunities for interstate collaboration.

In this report, “Atoms for Appalachia: The role of advanced nuclear technologies in economic development,” Lauren Hughes discusses common throughlines between the state-centric discussions and examines the role of advanced nuclear technologies in facilitating clean manufacturing and stimulating local and regional economic opportunities.

Staff

Lauren Hughes

Deputy Director, Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative

Global Energy Center Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative

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The Frontiers Project

The Frontiers Project efforts are dedicated to helping catalyze the industry, academic, and government partnerships in advanced nuclear energy first-mover states to secure United States leadership in the new frontier of global economic competition.

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Image: The New River Gorge Bridge. National Park Service/Gary Hartley