Nuclear energy can play a major role in combating climate change, but the industry needs better regulation to help it grow, Nuclear Energy Institute CEO Maria Korsnick said Tuesday.

Korsnick's comments came during her annual State of the Industry address at NEI's Nuclear Innovation Week meeting in Washington, D.C. The U.S. nuclear industry has struggled in recent years as older plants have shut down and few new plants have been built to replace them. However, Korsnick painted an optimistic view of the industry's future, noting that nuclear power is a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels and, unlike wind and solar power, can be produced 24/7.

The main obstacle to building more nuclear power plants, at least as far as NEI is concerned, is public policy.

"There is a lot to examine closely in terms of policy. But the bottom line is this: even the best-designed nuclear technology won't reach its potential if it's held back by poorly designed regulations," Korsnick said. "And no matter how serious we say we are about reducing emissions and meeting the needs of a growing economy, it won't happen without nuclear."

The message of nuclear power as a solution to climate change is unlikely to appeal to the current administration, with President Donald Trump unconvinced of the science showing human activity as the cause of changing weather patterns. At the same time, many environmentalists and some Democrats have resisted calls for expanding nuclear energy, seeing the technology as too dangerous.

As a result, Korsnick's address didn't focus just on climate change but also on the economic benefits of the industry. The nuclear power sector provides more than 100,000 jobs and generated a half-billion dollars in economic activity every year, she said.

"Our plants don't just generate power; they act as economic engines for the communities they serve," Korsnick said.

In terms of policy, the CEO said the nuclear industry needed a fully functioning Export-Import Bank to provide export financing; that the forthcoming U.S. International Development Finance Corporation should be allowed to support nuclear energy projects; and the U.S. should continue to engage with long-term nuclear energy projects with Russia and China. She also pointed to state efforts to prop up struggling power plants with government funds, although she refused to call what the states were doing "bailouts" or "subsidies." http://bit.ly/2FEGUvt

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