A letter from Students for Nuclear to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, Sunrise Movement, and New Consensus
To Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sunrise Movement, New Consensus, and the architects of the Green New Deal:
We write to you as nuclear scientists, engineers, young people, and most importantly concerned Americans. It is with great hope and excitement that we welcome the great strides that the Green New Deal and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are making in bringing the interconnected issues of climate change and social welfare to the forefront of the American political discussion.
We are thrilled that the resolution calls for meeting “100% of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources.” This language leaves the door open for nuclear technologies to play a role, much like they have in places that include France, Sweden, and our neighbors in Ontario. Each of these highly-industrialized regions has been successful in rapidly decarbonizing their grids through the use of nuclear energy paired with renewables. Ontario for example burned its last load of coal ever in 2014.
We are heartened by Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s recent statements regarding her openness to keeping nuclear in the conversation. At the same time, we understand why you may be skeptical of nuclear’s ability to play a central role in a just energy transition. There are legitimate reasons for concern. This is why we want to be a resource to you all in helping to shape a better approach to leveraging these technologies not just to reduce carbon emissions, but to help communities thrive. We are equally motivated by the desire to live in healthy neighborhoods on a prosperous planet. Most of our work as scientists and engineers has traditionally taken place in the laboratory, but we believe that our generation can be the most effective when we reach out from our respective circles to work together.
Like you, we are also young people and our decisions have been influenced by similar experiences. We too have been devastated watching our communities be polluted, our land fracked, and our bodies of water threatened with toxic waste. We are equally angry about the liberties that a handful of companies continue to take with our future. We are equally tired of a political system that does not fairly represent the values of its people. We are equally discouraged by Washington’s inability to advance a unified vision for The United States. And throughout our lives, we have been just as scared by climate change and outraged by those who deny its existence.
Each of us has decided to act on those fears in ways that are different but equally vital and complementary within a movement as large as this crisis calls for. We have chosen to invest our lives and our careers in a technology that we believe can, and historically has, significantly contributed to rectifying our current situation. And our numbers are growing. The U.S. today is graduating the highest number of nuclear engineers in nearly 40 years. Over 70 startups in North America are developing next-generation reactors that address issues with earlier designs and promise to provide clean and dependable energy in all conditions while filling new niches to support decarbonization of the whole economy. This includes very small technologies that can be utilized as an alternative to diesel generators, flexible reactors that can accommodate ramping to replace natural gas, and high temperature reactors that can provide heat for industrial uses like steel production. The fact that these machines will be constructed in the U.S. as manufactured products will allow communities that both produce and use these technologies to prosper.
Advanced nuclear has also begun to shift the paradigm for community choice and engagement. Motivated by reducing their carbon footprint and gaining more direct control over their energy mix, dozens of small municipal governments in Utah have banded together using a community-centered approach to invest in factory-built small modular reactors at a shared cost. The Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems’ (UAMPS) Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) is a first of a kind initiative that shows how innovative new business models can be used for deploying these technologies, especially when communities take the reins.
Addressing a crisis as large as today’s requires an open mind. Nuclear energy is an energy source and a tool, but it is not a belief. We believe that our experiences and yours are common and complementary. We believe that together we can create a clean energy roadmap for this country that is informed, effective, and can solve climate change.
There are many entrenched interests that are counting on us to NOT work together. In most cases, nuclear facilities that have been closed prematurely have resulted in their generation being replaced by coal and natural gas. Premature plant closures can also have disastrous effects on the communities and economies where they are located. The American petroleum industry finances much of the anti-nuclear advertising we are exposed to and it has actively lobbied for plant closures in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. The early closure of only 6 nuclear plants has alone nullified the climate progress made by the entire capacity of U.S. solar to date. We say this not to contrast nuclear and renewables, but to point out what happens when they do not work in concert. These are the types of unintended consequences that can stem from not communicating and from keeping our efforts siloed. Clean energy should never be replaced by dirty energy.
Today more than ever before, we need problem-solving that is inclusive and informed by a diverse range of voices. We are excited by what the Green New Deal represents and what we ask for is the opportunity to work together. We do not believe that energy system design is a zero-sum game: the scale of the clean energy transition is too large for any one technology to solve and each has a role to play in this process. We would like to be involved in the planning that gets us to a zero-carbon grid quickly and conscientiously.
Thank you for your time and we hope that this will mark the beginning of an important relationship.
Signed,
Students for Nuclear
Katie Mummah, co-author
Graduate Student, Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2022
Charlyne Smith, co-author
PhD, Nuclear and Material Science Engineering
University of Florida, 2021
Gemma (Ira) Strong, co-author
BS, Nuclear Engineering
University of New Mexico, 2020
Daniel Timmons, co-author
PhD, Nuclear Engineering
University of New Mexico, 2020
River Bennett, co-author
Nuclear engineering post baccalaureate
Arizona State University, 2019
Emma Redfoot, co-author
MS, Nuclear Engineering
University of Idaho, 2018
Aries Loumis, co-author
BS, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering
University of Illinois, 2017
Eddie Guerra, co-author
M.Eng., Structural Engineering
Lehigh University, 2010
Please note that the authors and signatories of this letter are individual supporters and do not act as representatives for their respective universities or companies.
A letter from Students for Nuclear to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, Sunrise Movement, and New Consensus
To Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sunrise Movement, New Consensus, and the architects of the Green New Deal:
We write to you as nuclear scientists, engineers, young people, and most importantly concerned Americans. It is with great hope and excitement that we welcome the great strides that the Green New Deal and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are making in bringing the interconnected issues of climate change and social welfare to the forefront of the American political discussion.
We are thrilled that the resolution calls for meeting “100% of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources.” This language leaves the door open for nuclear technologies to play a role, much like they have in places that include France, Sweden, and our neighbors in Ontario. Each of these highly-industrialized regions has been successful in rapidly decarbonizing their grids through the use of nuclear energy paired with renewables. Ontario for example burned its last load of coal ever in 2014.
We are heartened by Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s recent statements regarding her openness to keeping nuclear in the conversation. At the same time, we understand why you may be skeptical of nuclear’s ability to play a central role in a just energy transition. There are legitimate reasons for concern. This is why we want to be a resource to you all in helping to shape a better approach to leveraging these technologies not just to reduce carbon emissions, but to help communities thrive. We are equally motivated by the desire to live in healthy neighborhoods on a prosperous planet. Most of our work as scientists and engineers has traditionally taken place in the laboratory, but we believe that our generation can be the most effective when we reach out from our respective circles to work together.
Like you, we are also young people and our decisions have been influenced by similar experiences. We too have been devastated watching our communities be polluted, our land fracked, and our bodies of water threatened with toxic waste. We are equally angry about the liberties that a handful of companies continue to take with our future. We are equally tired of a political system that does not fairly represent the values of its people. We are equally discouraged by Washington’s inability to advance a unified vision for The United States. And throughout our lives, we have been just as scared by climate change and outraged by those who deny its existence.
Each of us has decided to act on those fears in ways that are different but equally vital and complementary within a movement as large as this crisis calls for. We have chosen to invest our lives and our careers in a technology that we believe can, and historically has, significantly contributed to rectifying our current situation. And our numbers are growing. The U.S. today is graduating the highest number of nuclear engineers in nearly 40 years. Over 70 startups in North America are developing next-generation reactors that address issues with earlier designs and promise to provide clean and dependable energy in all conditions while filling new niches to support decarbonization of the whole economy. This includes very small technologies that can be utilized as an alternative to diesel generators, flexible reactors that can accommodate ramping to replace natural gas, and high temperature reactors that can provide heat for industrial uses like steel production. The fact that these machines will be constructed in the U.S. as manufactured products will allow communities that both produce and use these technologies to prosper.
Advanced nuclear has also begun to shift the paradigm for community choice and engagement. Motivated by reducing their carbon footprint and gaining more direct control over their energy mix, dozens of small municipal governments in Utah have banded together using a community-centered approach to invest in factory-built small modular reactors at a shared cost. The Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems’ (UAMPS) Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) is a first of a kind initiative that shows how innovative new business models can be used for deploying these technologies, especially when communities take the reins.
Addressing a crisis as large as today’s requires an open mind. Nuclear energy is an energy source and a tool, but it is not a belief. We believe that our experiences and yours are common and complementary. We believe that together we can create a clean energy roadmap for this country that is informed, effective, and can solve climate change.
There are many entrenched interests that are counting on us to NOT work together. In most cases, nuclear facilities that have been closed prematurely have resulted in their generation being replaced by coal and natural gas. Premature plant closures can also have disastrous effects on the communities and economies where they are located. The American petroleum industry finances much of the anti-nuclear advertising we are exposed to and it has actively lobbied for plant closures in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. The early closure of only 6 nuclear plants has alone nullified the climate progress made by the entire capacity of U.S. solar to date. We say this not to contrast nuclear and renewables, but to point out what happens when they do not work in concert. These are the types of unintended consequences that can stem from not communicating and from keeping our efforts siloed. Clean energy should never be replaced by dirty energy.
Today more than ever before, we need problem-solving that is inclusive and informed by a diverse range of voices. We are excited by what the Green New Deal represents and what we ask for is the opportunity to work together. We do not believe that energy system design is a zero-sum game: the scale of the clean energy transition is too large for any one technology to solve and each has a role to play in this process. We would like to be involved in the planning that gets us to a zero-carbon grid quickly and conscientiously.
Thank you for your time and we hope that this will mark the beginning of an important relationship.
Signed,
Students for Nuclear
Katie Mummah, co-author
Graduate Student, Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2022
Charlyne Smith, co-author
PhD, Nuclear and Material Science Engineering
University of Florida, 2021
Gemma (Ira) Strong, co-author
BS, Nuclear Engineering
University of New Mexico, 2020
Daniel Timmons, co-author
PhD, Nuclear Engineering
University of New Mexico, 2020
River Bennett, co-author
Nuclear engineering post baccalaureate
Arizona State University, 2019
Emma Redfoot, co-author
MS, Nuclear Engineering
University of Idaho, 2018
Aries Loumis, co-author
BS, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering
University of Illinois, 2017
Eddie Guerra, co-author
M.Eng., Structural Engineering
Lehigh University, 2010
Please note that the authors and signatories of this letter are individual supporters and do not act as representatives for their respective universities or companies.