all research & reports

EnergySource

Feb 11, 2022

Building on US advanced reactor demonstration momentum: Federal power purchase agreements

By Matt Bowen

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s recent announcement regarding the Clinch River site adds momentum to the US effort to demonstrate advanced reactors. There is, however, another policy lever at the federal level that could help to support some of these projects and still has not been utilized: federal power purchase agreements.

Energy Transitions Nuclear Energy

EnergySource

Nov 10, 2021

Nuclear power and the energy transition in non-OECD countries

By Robert F. Ichord, Jr.

In non-OECD countries, nuclear power’s role in immediate emissions reductions appears to be minimal, due to long lead times and other mitigating factors. But after 2030, rapid innovation could mean that nuclear energy will have a much more important part to play. OECD countries should partner with non-OECD countries to lay the groundwork now.

Energy & Environment Energy Transitions

EnergySource

Sep 28, 2021

The VTR will play a key role in the nuclear energy innovation ecosystem

By Suzanne Baker, Jennifer T. Gordon, Judi Greenwald, and Jackie Toth

Next-generation nuclear technologies hold the potential to bring US-led zero-carbon energy to international markets. But their development will be stymied without government support for the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), whose budget was recently zeroed out. Congress still has opportunities to provide sufficient funding, and it must act on them.

Energy & Environment Energy Transitions

EnergySource

Jul 22, 2021

Expanding nuclear energy to the Arctic: The potential of small modular reactors

By Julia Nesheiwat

As Arctic communities look to reduce reliance on diesel generators for electricity production, small modular reactors are becoming an increasingly attractive option. Collaboration between governments, private companies, and civil society organizations is crucial to ensure the successful development and deployment of safe, transportable, microreactors for remote areas.

Energy & Environment Energy Transitions

EnergySource

Jun 28, 2021

Climate change, energy security, and international nuclear energy: Competition in the Czech Republic

By Robert F. Ichord, Jr.

Recent reports of Russian intelligence operations in the Czech Republic in 2014 have escalated tensions between the two countries, directly affecting the Czech government’s plans for the future development of its nuclear sector. In light of this changing dynamic, President Biden should work to support Czech energy security and act to weaken Russia’s position in Central and Eastern European nuclear power markets.

Central Europe Energy & Environment

EnergySource

Mar 10, 2021

The pandemic and electricity transformation in the United States and the European Union: Developments in 2020

By Robert F. Ichord, Jr.

Electricity sector developments in 2020 demonstrated the key role of renewables and nuclear power in achieving President Biden’s goal of realizing “a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035” and the EU’s target of 55 percent emissions reduction by 2030. But it also reinforced the magnitude of the challenge ahead, with fossil fuels still representing 60 percent of the power generation mix in the United States and 37 percent in the European Union, as well as the importance of pursuing an aggressive sustainable recovery plan to avoid a rebound in emissions.

Coronavirus Energy & Environment

Report

Mar 2, 2021

Advancing US-ROK cooperation on nuclear energy

By Stephen S. Greene

Although nuclear power is a key component in US and South Korean electricity generation, the nuclear energy industry in both countries is struggling. Research and development, bilateral trade, and the sale of nuclear energy technologies to third countries represent opportunities for bilateral cooperation that will strengthen both country’s nuclear energy industries.

East Asia Energy & Environment

EnergySource

Feb 19, 2021

How a HALEU bank could work

By Stephen S. Greene

Lack of a long-term, reliable source of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel represents a critical risk to the deployment of advanced reactors, which could be a key source of carbon-free electricity in the future. However, a HALEU fuel bank could resolve the conundrum facing advanced reactor developers and potential HALEU fuel suppliers by supporting the production of HALEU for advanced reactors and resolving the uncertainty faced by reactor developers and their potential customers and sources of financing.

Energy & Environment Nuclear Energy

EnergySource

Feb 12, 2021

As the United States develops advanced reactors, a new fuel supply chain is critical to national security

By Ambassador Thomas Graham, Jr. and Admiral Richard Mies

Over the past five years, the United States has made meaningful progress in the development of advanced nuclear reactor designs critical to keeping the country on the cutting edge of nuclear technology. These positive trends signal a growing need for the Department of Energy to address a key challenge that many reactor developers face as they move toward deployment: the lack of a reliable source of high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel.

Energy & Environment Nuclear Energy
Abu Dhabi Skyline

Global Energy Agenda

Jan 18, 2021

The 2021 Global Energy Agenda

By Randolph Bell, Jennifer T. Gordon, Paul Kielstra, and Andrew Marshall (Editors)

The inaugural edition of the Global Energy Agenda provides context for the unprecedented year that has passed. It features a survey of thought leaders in the energy sector, as well as a series of essays by the leading figures in energy, to set the energy agenda for 2021.

Energy & Environment Geopolitics & Energy Security
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The Global Energy Center promotes energy security by working alongside government, industry, civil society, and public stakeholders to devise pragmatic solutions to the geopolitical, sustainability, and economic challenges of the changing global energy landscape.

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