POLICY & FINANCE | TRUMP’S NUCLEAR PLAN
Will nuclear rise under Trump?
Despite a clear focus on increased fossil fuel extraction and a roll back of climate friendly policies, the lauded achievements of President Trump’s first term could give positive indications for the nuclear industry’s future.
POST-INAUGURATION AND AS DONALD Trump settles into the Oval Office and begins his second term as President of the USA, what are the potential implications of his presidency for the energy industry, and particularly the nuclear sector? The likely energy priorities of the administration have
so far been set out on the campaign trail, where Trump famously called for the country to “drill, baby, drill” for fossil extraction. The incoming president also announced plans to cut back on clean air and emissions reduction measures. Trump’s famed rhetoric also placed heavy reliance on making the US a major energy exporter – pushing at an open door, as the US is already an exporter of significant volumes of gas, for example, after investment in recent years in export terminals. But the administration may undermine its ability to deliver on export plans if it goes ahead with plans to deport large numbers of workers who are undocumented or who have limited rights to live and work in the USA. As the UK has found post-Brexit, erecting barriers to the movement of expert or skilled workers can put a brake on delivering industrial plans.
The president’s picks for roles in his administration
apparently share his aim of increasing fossil exports and cutting back on climate programmes. But Trump and his team could nonetheless give a boost to plans for a nuclear renaissance. Trump’s nominee for energy secretary is Chris Wright,
chief executive until 2017 of oilfield services group Liberty Energy and founder of fracking specialist Pinnacle. Wright has been a public sceptic on climate change, arguing in a LinkedIn post that “there is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition either,” and although he later insisted that he was not fighting “climate science,” he declined to say that the claims were incorrect. However, Wright has already actively embraced the nuclear industry as a board member of Oklo Inc, which is developing nuclear plants it describes as ‘fast fission’, using reprocessed uranium and transuranic elements as fuel. Oklo received a site use permit from the US Department of Energy and is developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the US Department of Energy (DOE).
Above: Trump’s famed rhetoric placed heavy reliance on making the US a major energy exporter Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr
36 | January 2025 |
www.neimagazine.com
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