Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal: Forging a New America
What does it mean to be American? Few of us seem sure, and those who do can rarely agree.
But we all seem to feel that our future is more uncertain than ever. Inequality is the highest it’s been in over fifty years.
The loss of manufacturing and rise of the gig economy has left Americans with insecure, low-wage jobs.
And investments in strategic sectors elsewhere in the world have left American industries with outdated equipment, capabilities, and attitudes.
These are nation-scale problems that will require Americans to set aside their differences and find common ground.
As was the case at the founding of our country, how we face our common challenges will define what it means to be American. We need a vision that transcends partisan politics and rebuilds America from the bottom up.
That vision is the Green Nuclear Deal.
The Green Nuclear Deal is a plan for growing nuclear energy to create dignified, high-wage jobs, revive American manufacturing capability, and reestablish ourselves as the global leaders of this critical technology.
Jobs and Reindustrialization
The construction and operation of nuclear power plants create more jobs than any other type of energy production.
And due to the complexity and longevity of nuclear plants, they are high-wage, high-skill jobs that last for generations.
Building reactors will revitalize America’s manufacturing base and heavy industry capabilities. The cheap, abundant electricity these plants produce can enable the growth of further industry, creating even more jobs and pulling up wages across the entire economy.
Climate Change
Nuclear power is the most powerful weapon we have in the fight against climate change. It’s the only low-carbon source of energy able to replace fossil fuels. Unlike solar and wind, nuclear can produce large amounts of electricity reliably year-round, regardless of time of day or season.
Only nuclear has been proven capable of being scaled up at climate-relevant speeds in major industrialized economies.
And nuclear’s ability to reduce emissions extends beyond the electricity sector. Other countries already use nuclear for district heating, generating high-temperature industrial heat, and producing ammonia for fertilizer to decarbonize agriculture.
In the 1970s, France was able to develop the electric-powered TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, “high-speed train”) intercity high-speed rail service around its new nuclear power stations. Now the country’s nuclear fleet is a critical part of its transition to electric vehicles. French nuclear provides abundant, emissions-free power throughout the night, when EVs are often charging.
Nuclear’s environmental benefits don’t stop at air pollution and emissions reductions. Uranium is extremely energy-dense, meaning that very little is required to produce a lot of electricity. A single soda can’s worth could provide all of the energy needed to power the average American’s life. As such, nuclear requires far fewer materials and less land than other generation technologies. This means more land can be set aside for conservation.
Global Leadership
Nuclear energy was born in America. The Atoms For Peace program was designed to share U.S. nuclear technology and expertise and electrify power-starved parts of the world.
Today the U.S. is allowing China and Russia to dominate nuclear plant construction abroad and closing its nuclear plants at home.
More than thirty countries are considering, planning, or starting nuclear power programs. It is in the United States’ best interest to re-establish ourselves as a leader of this critical technology and compete to win the business of emergent nuclear countries.
The Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal
In the middle of a crisis that demands society-scale action and coordination, a new economic strategy of reindustrialization that builds America’s clean energy economy is more possible than ever. The time for action is now.
That is why I’m launching the Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal. Our nation-wide advocacy effort will articulate a vision for nuclear as the industrial heart of sustainable and enduring American prosperity.
The Green Nuclear Deal’s target — to grow the share of U.S. electricity from nuclear power to 50% by 2050 — is achievable, but only if we take decisive action.
First, we need to re-start the construction of the two new reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in South Carolina with the same construction workers building the new Vogtle reactors in Georgia. The team of men and women building Vogtle 3 and 4 is America’s most valuable industrial asset. The experience they have gained through blood, sweat, and tears will be squandered if we do not seize the advantages of Vogtle’s impending completion.
Second, we need to invest in American forging to ensure the domestic industry can meet demand from new nuclear power projects. No steel producer operating in the U.S. is capable of delivering the large forgings necessary for our AP1000 reactors. We should not be reliant on Japan, Russia, China, or other countries with competitive suppliers for our nuclear power plants.
Right now, there is not enough demand for these large components to justify the cost of investment to upgrade American forging capabilities. A national commitment to nuclear and plan to build additional AP1000s at existing nuclear sites around the country quickly changes that calculation.
Third, we need to protect the operating nuclear plants at-risk due to politics or market failure from premature closure. From Diablo Canyon in California to Indian Point in New York, states are closing nuclear plants that could continue operating for decades. That needs to stop.
Fourth, we need to work with nations seeking to develop nuclear power in order to begin exporting proven American reactors, technology, and expertise. If we are investing in our nuclear industry and not selling abroad, we are leaving money on the table and depriving entrant countries of a competitive partner in the West.
Once we have a thriving industry, we should accelerate the development, demonstration, and deployment of advanced nuclear technologies. These technologies can improve upon the already impeccable operation of existing reactors while delivering additional benefits such as industrial heat and recycling spent fuel.
America has always risen to meet the challenges before it. Now is no different. If we invest in our capabilities to overcome climate change, then our children and grandchildren will inherit a country and a world that are more stable, more prosperous, and more hopeful than they are today. Embarking on the Green Nuclear Deal will mean the future will be made in America.
Join the Campaign
What can you do to help get a Green Nuclear Deal?
- Sign up to get email updates from me about our campaign — and how you can help.
- Check out our website!
- Donate. This is a grassroots effort. We are independent of all industrial interests, including from the nuclear industry. This ensures we can be a fair and independent advocate for the public’s interest, which is in reliable, clean, and efficient nuclear power. With your help, we can forge a new America with a Green Nuclear Deal!
Madison Czerwinski
Madison began her career fighting for nuclear power as a research and analyst for Environmental Progress, a pro-nuclear research and policy organization in Berkeley, California. She supported and co-authored analyses that have been cited in Forbes, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the New York Times.
Her work quickly got her promoted to Executive Vice President of EP. During her three years in the position, Madison oversaw all of the organization’s research, advocacy efforts, and campaigns.
Madison has traveled to meet with and advise policymakers and journalists around the world, including in France, Germany, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, and South Korea. Her organizing efforts built a coalition of industry and civil society that led to the world’s largest pro-nuclear demonstration, Stand Up For Nuclear. She has presented her work at the 2019 AtomExpo International Forum, the 2019 International Uranium Fuel Seminar, and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
The onset of coronavirus underscored the related crises the U.S. is facing, and Madison decided she need to focus her efforts on her home country. She returned to her birth city of Chicago, the epicenter of U.S. nuclear power, and launched the Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal.
Madison holds a B.S. in Environmental Sciences and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
