The IRA and CHIPS Act were great for nuclear energy — here’s what we should do next

After months of strenuous negotiations, Congress passed two landmark pieces of legislation: the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS). While the contents of the new laws — and the effects they’ll have on reducing inflation and increasing U.S. semiconductor manufacturing — are up for debate, one thing is clear: They are both enormously beneficial for nuclear energy. 

From the benefits they provide operational nuclear plants to their forward-looking investments in advanced reactor technology, the IRA and CHIPS Acts contribute a great deal toward the nuclear renaissance that our country needs to combat climate change and secure our clean energy future. Yet, more can — and should — be done to support nuclear energy’s role in our country’s clean energy future.

Nuclear is already the largest source of clean energy in the U.S., having provided 50 percent of America’s clean energy and 19 percent of America’s total energy in 2021. Nuclear energy produces energy the most reliably too: nuclear plants in the U.S. operate at full capacity 93 percent of the time, more than natural gas (54 percent), wind (35 percent) and solar (25 percent). The inclusion of nuclear energy as a recipient of the $369 billion allocated for clean energy in the IRA is an example of the all-of-the-above approach we must take to tackle climate change.

To aid existing nuclear power plants in producing reliable clean electricity, the IRA provides a credit of $15 per megawatt-hour, with the potential to move up to $25 should electricity prices increase. That seemingly small credit will provide an estimated $30 billion for aging nuclear plants nearing retirement, like Diablo Canyon in California, or the Palisades plant in Michigan that recently closed. 

Despite opposition from anti-nuclear activists, Diablo Canyon — which provided 9 percent of California’s total electricity and 15 percent of its carbon-free energy in 2021 — had its life extended earlier this month. And Palisades is applying for a federal grant to reopen under the Civil Nuclear Credit Program, a $6 billion fund to help preserve reactors. We must extend the lives of all our aging nuclear plants, or risk facing a countrywide energy crisis like California’s.

The IRA and CHIPS Act also support the production of advanced reactors that are smaller, more efficient and more affordable than the reactors that are currently in use. The CHIPS Act includes a bill initially introduced by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) titled Fission for the Future, which provides $800 million to support commercial planning, licensing and development of advanced reactors. It also prioritizes communities with retiring or already retired fossil fuel generation facilities, like coal plants, as locations for new advanced reactors.

Take the world’s first fast-spectrum salt reactor currently under construction at Idaho National Laboratory, created by TerraPower and Southern Company. This partnership to develop a Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (a type of salt reactor) experiment is a prime example of the public-private partnerships necessary to create our clean energy future. 

Molten Chloride Fast Reactors operate safely at higher temperatures than conventional rectors, allowing them to generate electricity more efficiently and without emissions. Yet, they, and almost all advanced reactor designs, also require HALEU (High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium) — uranium that is enriched beyond the typical 5 percent used in existing reactors. 

The U.S. does not currently produce any HALEU domestically and relies heavily on Russia for enrichment and conversion. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the energy crises across Europe it caused have shown us that it’s unwise to rely on unpredictable authoritarian regimes for energy, meaning the U.S. must urgently build domestic HALEU production capacity. 

Because advanced reactor developers are reluctant to make the long-term contract commitments necessary to support HALEU investments right now since production isn’t predicted to start until 2028 at the earliest, the U.S. government must step in. The IRA provides $700 million for the Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Nuclear Fuel Availability program through 2026, which will go toward supporting the development of HALEU production capacity, including research, development and demonstration.

Uranium — whether traditional or HALEU — is crucial to the nuclear fission process. The IRA and CHIPS Act address uranium supply, but more can be done to secure it. We can generate domestic production through a strategic uranium reserve, like the bill proposed by Barrasso. A strategic uranium reserve would allow the U.S. to both withstand price and supply volatility of uranium and provide a guaranteed buyer for domestically produced uranium. 

An example of bipartisan action that can support nuclear energy is the International Nuclear Energy Act by Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Manchin. This legislation would create an Executive Office for Nuclear Energy Policy to engage with U.S. allies in developing a civil nuclear export strategy to combat China and Russia’s burgeoning nuclear energy programs.

The IRA and CHIPS Act are positive steps forward, but more can — and must — be done to support nuclear energy.

Theodore “Ted” J. Garrish is former assistant secretary for the Office of International Affairs at the Energy Department and former vice chair of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris. Previously, Garrish spent over three decades on energy issues, including his tenure as general counsel and later as assistant secretary for Nuclear Energy. While in the private sector, he advised U.S. companies on export controls and assisted emerging nuclear power nations to develop legal and regulatory programs and national policies for the use of nuclear energy technology.