Last Friday the 22nd of October, Southeast Community College in Lincoln hosted the Advanced Nuclear Forum. The forum highlighted the many emerging technologies in nuclear power, and the role nuclear power will have in delivering reliable, affordable energy to Nebraskans. About a dozen senators were in attendance.

The Governor provided opening remarks and then we heard from numerous industry representatives over the course of the day. A wide variety of advanced new nuclear power technologies were presented. These included small modular reactors, next generation reactors, micro nuclear generation, and the new FAST reactor (fast neutrons) that actually uses nuclear waste for fuel. Many new advancements in radioactive waste management were also presented.

I do not agree with the idea that our electrical utilities should promote the goal to reduce or eliminate carbon emissions, the so-call “net-zero” standard. The ”climate change” argument is far from settled. The amount of carbon dioxide put into our atmosphere by humans’ amounts to about a twelve ounce can of soda poured into an olympic-size pool. It is not dangerous. It is not a green-house gas. It doesn’t heat the planet. It is not pollution. It is vital for life as we know it on planet Earth. Just the corn alone grown in Nebraska already consumes several times the amount of carbon dioxide that human activity in Nebraska produces. We have already achieved the “net-zero” goal. We need our electrical utilities to understand that tens of thousands of families in the communities of Alliance and North Platte utterly depend on the coal burned in our power plants. These coal power plants are our primary source of always-on, base load electricity. They cannot be replaced by unreliable wind turbines or solar panels. 

That said, the new nuclear energy technologies I saw at this conference are poised to provide the foundation for a carbon-free energy future. So long as it is reliable and affordable, we can all come together and agree on this goal. I think Nebraska should lead the way with these exciting new ways to make dependable electricity. 

There were presentations by several of the nuclear businesses in the US, including Terra Power, NuScale, Oklo, General Electric, X-Energy, and Orano. Presenters from the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Energy Institute and the Electric Power Research Institute also contributed to this educational Forum.

Before this conference Jan Bostelman, forum program chair said, “This first-of-its-kind forum will highlight reliable, resilient energy solutions. Several of the technologies to be discussed are being deployed in Washington, Utah, and Wyoming. Nebraskans will hear from the best and the brightest in the industry.” She was spot-in.

Today the Natural Resources Committee held the hearing for my interim study to examine the facts behind last February’s power black outs. The bottom line is people in another state ordered Nebraska’s public utilities to shut off power to Nebraskan’s to prevent a catastrophic failure of the national power grid. I’m glad the grid was protected, but it has cost us our State sovereignty over the power we generate here in and for Nebraska.