In the News

Opinion: Our Energy Future 

by Rep. French Hill
Arkansas Democrat Gazette 
January 16, 2025

In December, Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant, celebrated its 50th year of commercial operations. This milestone comes at a consequential moment for American energy. Across the country, energy demand is growing, fueled by data-center expansion, increased broad-based electrification, and the onshoring of American manufacturing.

By the end of the decade, the U.S. Energy Information Administration anticipates nationwide electricity use to increase by approximately 15 percent and necessary load growth to increase five-fold. Overall, the electricity intensity of the United States is expected to increase for the first time since the 1990s, up to 23 percent by 2040.

While the increase in electricity demand is an indicator of strong economic growth, working to meet that energy demand comes with challenges. Namely, how the United States can deliver electricity at an unprecedented scale, reliably, and affordably for everyday Americans, while also working toward lowering overall emissions.

Some key steps Congress can take are the greater use of safe, clean nuclear power plants around the country and the proper modernization of the grid.

Nuclear offers a reliable, carbon-free source of "base load" power that is both controllable and constant. While I believe in an all-of-the-above energy policy, renewable power, such as solar and wind, often runs into intermittency and land-use issues.

Nuclear, on the other hand, is incredibly efficient and operates on small amounts of land compared to wind or solar farms. Any serious conversation about the significant adoption of clean energy must include nuclear.

Currently, more than half of Arkansas' electricity comes from Arkansas Nuclear One and, nationwide, about 20 percent of electricity is generated by nuclear power. That share is only set to increase.

Last May, I supported the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clear Energy (ADVANCE) Act, which overwhelmingly passed the House. This legislation is critical in helping develop and deploy new nuclear technologies, preserving existing nuclear-energy generation, providing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with fewer regulatory burdens, and creating private-public partnerships in the development of new, advanced reactors.

Congress needs to continue to take up and advance legislation like the ADVANCE Act to ensure there are available reactors in the near future until more advanced reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs) can be scaled for commercial use in the decades to come.

Additionally, the United States should continue to promote the export of American small modular reactor technology and work to decrease the cost of reactors generally. SMRs offer the energy benefits of traditional nuclear reactors but with a smaller physical footprint, making them prime candidates for locations not large enough for traditional nuclear power plants.

As our adversaries like China and Russia offer energy solutions to the developing world, the United States should lead in providing these advanced, safe, and efficient nuclear technologies to nations looking to expand their power grids, as well as finding ways to decrease the cost of construction or extension of nuclear in the United States.

This leads to our domestic goal of effective modernization of the grid. It is no secret that our energy needs are fast outpacing infrastructure growth. No matter what the energy mix of the future looks like, Congress must continue to work with states and utility stakeholders to deliver on the projects needed to ensure more efficient transmission for America's electricity.

As electricity needs increase and the world's economically developed and developing nations transition away from coal, nuclear remains a key bipartisan solution to helping address the United States' growing energy demand.

None of America's strategic needs--bringing critical manufacturing back to the United States, strategic readiness amid an ever-changing global landscape, or anything in between--are possible without the abundant and affordable energy to power it.

To continue to put America first, Congress and President Trump must work to support nuclear energy and its development because, without this investment, we risk falling behind in the race for innovation, jobs, and economic growth.