Nuclear energy in the spotlight at Climate Week NYC 2024
Climate Week NYC 2024, as usual, featured a host of discussions and commitments to address climate change. One thing was different this year, though. Nuclear energy, often neglected in this forum, was a significant theme throughout the week, anchored by significant new announcements that signal renewed momentum for efforts to scale this powerful climate tool.
Driving renewed interest in nuclear energy is accelerating electricity demand – particularly in the U.S. after years of stagnation – and especially demand for non-weather dependent, 24/7/365 power sources for data centers and the thirst for zero-carbon power to meet it. A clear example of this nexus came just before Climate Week, when Constellation Energy announced a 20-year deal to supply Microsoft with 835 megawatts of zero-carbon energy by restarting Three Mile Island (TMI) Unit 1 in Pennsylvania. The energy would largely go toward supporting the tech giant’s regional data center expansion while still meeting its goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.
In a parallel win for efforts to revive existing nuclear energy infrastructure, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced it had finalized a $1.5 billion loan to support the ongoing effort to restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert, Michigan. If successful, this would mark the first time a shuttered U.S. nuclear plant has been brought back online and would support Michigan in its goal of supplying all its energy from clean sources by 2040 – producing on 400 acres as much zero carbon energy as all the wind turbines in Michigan today.
This broader effort to preserve large gigawatt-scale reactors was further validated by DOE’s recent updates to its Advanced Nuclear Commercial Liftoff report. While a lot of attention has deservedly focused on small modular reactors, the report highlighted the “powerful economies of scale” that large reactors offer, noting that multi-unit plants can produce electricity at 30% lower costs per megawatt-hour than single-unit plants. This underscores the efficiency of large reactors for bulk electricity generation, which is especially important in states with rapid load growth.
But perhaps the biggest signal of shifting attitudes was the announcement from 14 major banks expressing their support for efforts to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050. This new support from financial institutions, which have historically been bearish on nuclear energy, will be crucial to achieving the 2050 goal. The banks will be especially helpful in unlocking capital necessary for financing new reactors, eventually driving down costs and speeding up deployment.
Beyond these headlines, efforts to scale nuclear energy gained further momentum through key Climate Week events and initiatives. Net Zero Nuclear’s “Financing the Tripling of Nuclear” Forum convened industry leaders and financial institutions to explore how to unlock the financing needed to achieve the nuclear capacity 2050 goal, and underscoring the technology’s potential as a bankable, efficient solution for decarbonizing the grid. At the same time, companies like Google, AstraZeneca, and Vodafone UK joined Climate Group’s new 24/7 Carbon-Free Coalition, which aims to match corporate electricity use with carbon-free power from sources like nuclear energy.
For its own part, CATF joined the EFI Foundation (EFIF) and the Nuclear Threat initiative (NTI) in announcing the creation of the Nuclear Scaling Initiative (NSI) – a new collaborative effort to catalyze and build a new nuclear energy ecosystem to scale to 50 or more gigawatts of clean, safe, and secure nuclear power per year by the 2030s, a tenfold increase of the current deployment rate. Enabled by a $5 million gift from Joe Gebbia and Isabelle Boemeke – and bolstered by the prospect of an additional $5 million gift, to be facilitated through a challenge match – the partnership will produce and disseminate first-of-their-kind analyses and advance actionable recommendations to governments, stakeholders, and opinion leaders. NSI will build prior collaborations between CATF, EFIF, and NTI, including the Global Playbook for Nuclear Energy Development in Embarking Countries, which outlines pathways for the responsible, sustainable, and effective development of new nuclear energy projects at 10x of the current pace.
Nuclear energy has come a long way. The debate is no longer about whether we need it, but how we can deploy it – and how fast. CATF remains a major contributor to this movement, working to increase understanding of nuclear energy, raise ambition for its deployment, and transform the commercial and policy ecosystem to unlock its full potential. As we move toward COP29 and beyond, stay tuned for more on how CATF will continue driving the conversation and pushing for bold action to scale nuclear energy to meet the climate challenge.
Please contact Harlan Cutshall at [email protected] with any questions related to the Nuclear Scaling Initiative’s funding structure, challenge match, and other resource needs.
