OPINION | DAVID HESS
A private matter
In most countries nuclear energy lives or dies by government policy. An innovative nuclear future demands we become at least a little more independent, and that private commercial businesses become the major players. New technologies offer a pathway.
David Hess, Senior VP DeepGeo
FAMILIAR PICTURE. A BUNCH OF nuclear executives are standing around the coffee machine looking at the latest microreactor brochure. One of them says – I can’t wait to have that in my basement. Everybody laughs. The idea that an average Joe
could go to the hardware shop, buy, install and operate their own nuclear power plant free of any invasive oversight is so removed from the reality of the nuclear sector today that the very idea of it is ludicrous. And yet this will often be suggested by the nuclear-curious, who wonder why the technology is so inaccessible. This is not a ridiculous notion at all. Joe could certainly
purchase a solar panel or a diesel generator, even a fuel cell is not out of the question. These are normal commercial interactions and governments have little role in them.
While the availability of a highly-reliable electricity grid and general economies of scale may make it a questionable decision for most people to purchase their own generating capacity (ignoring specific subsidies or those living in remote locations) this option is open to them. It is not an unrealistic dream to be an energy producer, and many people in fact are. As soon as you put the word ‘nuclear’ in front of
©Alexy Kovynev
‘energy’ however it becomes big, complex, and all about government. Government is needed to fundamentally allow facilities to be constructed in the first place. Government is required to write special laws, enter into trade agreements and adhere to a long list of international treaties. Government must create independent regulators, appoint privileged operators and meet infrastructure milestones. Government is typically needed to create special financial frameworks to incentivise nuclear plant projects and backstop them. The argument that no nuclear plant can be constructed without government subsidy, while partly on target, misses the broader point that no nuclear plant can be constructed without government involvement in multiple crucial areas. Nuclear plants require an assortment of permissions, and essentially live or die by government policy. It is hardly surprising that we see nuclear growing more quickly in countries where governments still hold the reins on the energy market, rather those where deregulation has occurred. Look globally and governments own or have outsized
influence on most of the major nuclear companies – like Rosatom, EDF and KEPCO – which we recognise as national champions. Geopolitical considerations are the norm in nuclear and in many cases will trump purely commercial ones. It is not unusual to hear folk talk about Russian, French or South Korean nuclear projects – instead of the companies that are leading them. The interests of nation states and these companies are entangled in the minds of many.
“I can’t wait to have one of these in my basement.” 14 | September 2025 |
www.neimagazine.com
Adam Smith’s invisible hand gently nudges the nuclear industry, but does not push it around the way it does the
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