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Voters Like the Idea of Community Ownership 

We partnered with progressive powerhouse Data for Progress to take voters’ pulse on community ownership of energy projects and on advanced nuclear generally. The results? Super heartening! 

• A majority of voters (57%) thinks communities, not state or private power companies, should have more ownership opportunities and choice over what powers their region
• More than two in three voters (69%) want the federal government to invest in technologies to make that happen
• Voters of every affiliation grow more favorable toward next-generation nuclear when they hear the details. By the end of the poll, favorability toward advanced nuclear grew by 17 points

 
Find lots of other interesting tidbits in our joint memo.

TOMORROW: Jessica Talks Microreactors

Jessica’s set to speak at an event hosted by the Generation IV International Forum tomorrow, July 27, at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT, covering microreactors and how the United States can regain influence in the global nuclear market. In the forum, the United States, twelve other countries, and Euratom work together to test fourth-generation advanced nuclear, with a shared goal of getting these reactors up and running by 2030.
 
Register here!

Earning Progressives’ Support for Nuclear 

Progressives have concerns about nuclear energy for legitimate reasons: Black and brown communities have borne the impacts of destructive uranium mines, while wealthier and whiter neighborhoods reaped the benefits of the high-wage jobs and air benefits of nuclear reactors. The top-down approach of industry to siting nuclear projects--and many nuclear advocates’ tendency to extol nuclear without owning up to its history or trying to engage better with communities--runs counter to progressive ideas about what the future of energy should look like.

Jessica and Suzy’s recent article in Issues in Science and Technology explores how business-as-usual for the nuclear industry won’t earn them a seat at the table with progressives. Instead, it will take a commitment to trust-building, communication, and the willingness to try new models of ownership.

Read: “Can Nuclear Power Go Local?”

Lessons from Social Science Key to Public Support for New Nuclear Projects

Fighting climate change and increasing Americans’ access to clean energy is going to take a lot of large-scale deployments of clean energy resources like nuclear. But it’s not something the United States has always gotten right. 

In a new article in the journal Energies, Suzy, Jessica, and friend-of-GEC Todd Allen look back at what worked and didn’t for past energy projects to identify lessons that early advanced nuclear developers could follow to earn communities’ consent for siting reactors and achieve successful deployment. 

Check out the open-access article here.

Good Energy Collective is making the progressive case for nuclear energy in a just, climate-friendly future. We invite you to chip in if you are able and share broadly with your networks.