Is it time for a nuclear energy renaissance in the U.S.? With the growth in energy-use expected over the next 20 years and the growing negative impacts of global climate change, the cost of oil and gas, energy security and diversity concerns, and progress on advanced reactor designs, it may be the right time in the U.S.. Nearly four decades of experience have given the industry and the U.S. government time to improve the critical underpinnings of a successful and sustainable nuclear power program: effective safety, security, nonproliferation, and environmental protection. And this work continues. Efforts are ongoing by the industry and the U.S. Government. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the other U.S. national laboratories under the Department of Energy are helping the U.S. government. The work of the labs spans the life cycle of nuclear energy, and touches on topics as diverse as actinide chemistry and socioeconomic modeling. Both government
and industry recognize there is still much to learn, many new lessons to incorporate, and several bad habits of the past to forget. To their credit, the U.S. government and industry also recognize
that work in these areas is never complete.