REPORT LAUNCH: THE ROLE OF ADVANCED NUCLEAR ENERGY IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - In 2024, the Atlantic Council’s Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative hosted Atoms for Appalachia, a series of private workshops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia, to identify opportunities and address challenges for the deployment of advanced nuclear energy. The workshops, hosted in partnership with the Breakthrough Energy Foundation, galvanized conversations at the federal, state, and local levels to discuss the potential for advanced nuclear energy to play a crucial role in the energy transition and in economic development. Advanced nuclear technologies can drive economic security and energy security within these states, especially by supporting a clean manufacturing base and creating workforce and educational opportunities.

It is imperative that discussions of opportunities and costs of a potential new nuclear project consider local wants and needs. An integrated, localized approach to nuclear development will enable economic opportunities for first-mover states as well as an honest assessment of the challenges to advancing nuclear deployment. States that deploy advanced nuclear technologies will face common challenges, like projecting workforce needs and attracting talent to the energy workforce; these challenges present opportunities for interstate collaboration.

This report by Lauren Hughes discusses common throughlines between the state-based discussions and examines the role of advanced nuclear technologies in facilitating clean manufacturing and stimulating local and regional economic opportunities.

ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 03/20/25