Senators urge inclusion of Nuclear Energy Leadership Act within NDAA

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators is urging the Committee on Armed Services to include the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act (NELA) within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021.

The Senators, in a letter to committee leadership, highlighted nuclear energy’s contribution to national security. The advanced reactors supported by NELA have the potential to provide clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy to military bases and remote communities.

“Nuclear energy provides many benefits, from zero-emission power to high reliability and energy security, but its contribution to national security is often underappreciated,” the Senators wrote t5o Committee Chair Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK). “The Atlantic Council recently estimated nuclear energy’s annual contribution to U.S. national security to be $42 billion. Civilian nuclear energy benefits the Department of Defense through a shared source of both human capital, supply chains, and technology development with the Navy. Commercial nuclear power provides long-term, high-paying career stability for Navy veterans while civilian nuclear energy also provide a high-quality nuclear engineering workforce for the Navy.”

NELA requires the Department of Energy to demonstrate advanced reactor concepts, provide fuel for initial advanced nuclear reactors, and develop the nuclear energy workforce.