{"id":280814,"date":"2023-09-28T10:25:13","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T08:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=280814"},"modified":"2023-09-28T10:25:16","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T08:25:16","slug":"america-is-behind-russia-and-china-in-nuclear-zero-emission-electricity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=280814","title":{"rendered":"America is behind Russia and China in nuclear zero emission electricity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From \u00a0CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Ronald Stein<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the USA and many world leaders continue the pursuit of \u201cunreliable electricity\u201d, from wind turbines and solar panels that can only generate intermittent electricity at best from available breezes and sunshine, Russia, China, France, and Finland have emerged as the leaders in nuclear power generation to achieve continuous uninterruptible, affordable, and zero emission electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to recent reports, Russia and China are currently leading the world in nuclear electricity generation, which also happens to be continuous uninterruptable zero-emissions electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 60\u00a0nuclear power reactors are currently being constructed in 15\u00a0countries, notably China, India, and\u00a0Russia. Together,\u00a0China and Russia account for 70 percent of new nuclear plants<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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China installed its Hualong One reactor at the Karachi nuclear power plant as part of a\u00a0plan\u00a0to extend influence in Pakistan. (Photo from\u00a0China National Nuclear Corporation social media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A rendering of a NuScale power plant that would host small modular reactors. (Image courtesy of NuScale)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The United States, which once led the way in nuclear energy, now lags with only a handful of new reactors under construction. The dominance of Russia and China is likely to continue for the foreseeable future as they invest heavily in new technology and expand their nuclear power programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the next generation nuclear plants will require a new form of enriched uranium \u2013 called High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium<\/a> (HALEU). Russia is currently the only country to produce HALEU<\/strong><\/a>, which may not be comfortable for America\u2019s national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global demand for affordable, reliable, secure, and clean electricity is soaring because of rising security concerns and ambitious climate commitments. Today, both Russia and China lead the US in terms of the number of agreements with sales of their nuclear energy hardware and their services attached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of America\u2019s primary competitors for zero-emission-generated electricity also happen to be major geopolitical rivals: for Russia and China, nuclear exports are not just lucrative; they are an effective means of entrapment and exerting geopolitical influence<\/a>. When Russian and Chinese state-owned nuclear companies export nuclear hardware and equipment, they get to set the standards for safety, security, and nonproliferation. Also, Russia and China usually structure their deals with long-term financing and nuclear fuel supply, meaning they are an avenue to cementing long-term ties and exporting their values<\/em> as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US was once the dominant global supplier of civil nuclear technologies, but that market position has since eroded with the emergence of new international vendors<\/a> led by Russia and China. Accordingly, America\u2019s ability to compete in the nuclear market impacts our national security, and democracy is on the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the nuclear movement continues to be led by Russia and China, the United States, through subsidies and tax incentives, continues to provide financial incentives that are aiding and abetting Communist China\u2019s egregious exploitation of children \u2014 some as young as six years old and becoming more dependent on Chinas Xi Jinping\u2019s brutal dictatorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

America must <\/em>compete to secure a myriad of national interests. At stake in this market are trade, climate, energy and national security, geopolitics, nonproliferation, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The geopolitical value of nuclear trade and commerce means that Moscow and Beijing are actively involved in helping their state-owned enterprises win reactor-build projects abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian and Chinese governments will use various diplomatic instruments\u2014ranging from preliminary MOUs to more comprehensive cooperative agreements\u2014to support their respective state nuclear companies in winning overseas deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moscow and Beijing use collaborative R&D arrangements to familiarize partners with their respective technologies. Through these arrangements, Russia and China invite students from partner countries to train and study at domestic universities and institutes. Ultimately, these efforts can influence the decision of client states once the procurement of civil nuclear technologies begins in earnest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia and China are leading in hard agreements, and their presence in international markets is growing. The data is consistent with assessments from the last several years that Russia is by far the world\u2019s leading exporter of nuclear power plants in terms of reactors planned and under construction\u2014Russia has hard MOUs with 45 different countries. Russia\u2019s Grip on Nuclear-Power Trade Is Only Getting Stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though its emergence as a global nuclear supplier has been relatively recent, even China leads the US on hard agreements with 13<\/em>. China is also planning ambitious buildouts of nuclear domestically, giving it a significant industrial base for export.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only are many of these foreign countries ready for significant nuclear-generated electricity deployment, but demand for nuclear energy is soaring globally as electricity security concerns become paramount and the imperative to decarbonize grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competition in the international nuclear energy market is high politics. To rise above the competition, America would need a coherent and strategic vision to guide its policies on nuclear energy and civil nuclear exports to compete with Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, as America and a few other European countries continue to focus on ridding the world of fossil fuels for just occasional electricity generated from breezes and sunshine, America is resigning from the nuclear power generation industry race and relinquishing that control to Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the lack of Energy Literacy among President Biden and his counterparts in Europe is perpetuated and reflected in these satirical John Stossel-styled \u201cgive-me-a-break<\/strong>\u201d comments about the lack of Energy Literacy among President Biden and his counterparts in Europe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n