American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness

About the Council

Formed in 2005, the American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks the return of American nuclear leadership to the world through the emergence of an U.S.-led global nuclear enterprise. The Council educates key audiences on the policies and technologies of an American nuclear renaissance and summons public and private sector leadership to organize and promote such a transformation.

Issue Background:

Nuclear energy is a carbon-free energy resource which can provide energy security for generations to come. Thus far much of the support for new nuclear build has centered on the substantial environmental benefits offered by nuclear energy. This is important, but it’s not the whole story. What has been missing from the discussion is a recognition of potential economic and national security benefits that can accrue if the U.S. recaptures a large share of the nuclear manufacturing business.

The United States greatly benefited from an initial wave of commercial nuclear power plant construction from the 1970s to the early 1990s. At that time, U.S. firms dominated the global market. The renewed interest in the global use of nuclear energy represents a perishable opportunity for U.S. industry to reclaim its nuclear energy leadership.

In the ever-expanding global markets, it is essential that a reinvigorated U.S. industry be able to compete and supply nuclear energy systems at home and abroad from a dominant, preferred supplier position.

A nuclear energy revival is long overdue. In order for the United States to prosper we can not become complacent and view the growth of the nuclear industry as “business-as-usual.” The Unites States invented nuclear energy, and unless the domestic outlook for nuclear energy design, manufacturing, service and supply improves, our country will have to buy the bulk of its nuclear technology from overseas and forgo multibillion-dollar opportunities. Therefore, the Council is working to promote a revived domestic nuclear design, manufacturing, service and supply industry that will result in:

o the creation or retention of American jobs and factories;
o improved American economic competitiveness and shareholder returns; and
o greater leverage for the U.S. in dealing with global proliferation concerns.

Nuclear energy represents not just business opportunities but employment opportunity — more than one million jobs could be created in the United States if American firms capture a significant share of the growing global nuclear energy market.

The Council also encourages policymakers to pay close attention to the ability of the U.S. educational system to meet the anticipated demand for reactor designers and operators, as well as the trained construction, manufacturing, and maintenance workers who will be needed to build, operate, and service new nuclear plants in the U.S.

The Council encourages greater education on these issues along with a restoration of American leadership in nuclear energy--urging our nation’s political, industry, financial and labor leaders to adapt and support policies and programs that will help ensure America’s nuclear leadership is restored.

Mission and Overview

MISSION

The Council seeks the return of American nuclear leadership to the world through the emergence of an U.S.-led global nuclear enterprise. The Council educates key audiences on the policies and technologies of the American nuclear industry and summons public and private sector leadership to organize and promote such a transformation.

OVERVIEW

The Council alerts and educates Americans on the decline of the U.S. in nuclear reactor design, manufacture, and supply and of the opportunities for the U.S. to restore its position as a global leader in the nuclear energy industry. The Council:

Encourages and supports nuclear initiatives benefiting U.S. national security and the economy;

Educates elected officials, policy-makers, media and the public on the policy and technology aspects of an American nuclear renaissance; and

Summons private sector leadership to organize and promote such a transformation. The Council supports bold energy policies and U.S.-led initiatives that will contribute to the growth of the U.S. nuclear industry, such as the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and the American Competitiveness Initiative.

The Council believes in innovation and initiatives that support a major leap into a new generation of proliferation-resistant, inherently safe nuclear reactors that could be provided to the world’s aspiring, less-developed countries.

Innovative new reactor designs, hold the solution to lost technological leadership; the migration of manufacturing and technical jobs overseas; the decline in U.S. leadership in non-proliferation; the nuclear waste problem facing U.S. utilities; the lack of reliable, affordable, non-polluting energy; the challenge of finding technology solutions to global warming; and the discovery of the energy foundations for economic growth and prosperity for developing countries.

Council Members and Officers

Council membership is offered to distinguished individuals, corporations and institutions interested in fostering an American-led global nuclear enterprise. The Council greatly benefits from the sponsorship and expertise of corporations and individuals who provide ongoing support for the Council’s initiatives. Contributing institutions have also lent their expertise and reputation in support of the Council’s key educational programs.

The Co-Chairs, Members and Officers of the Council are:

Co-Chairmen

Ambassador Howard H. Baker, Jr., Former Member, United States Senate, Former Chief of Staff for President Ronald Reagan

Senator J. Bennett Johnston, Johnston & Associates, Former Member, United States Senate

Ambassador C. Paul Robinson, Former Director, Sandia National Laboratories

Members

Scott L. Campbell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Energy Strategies International, LLC, Former Director, Office of Policy, Planning and Analysis, U.S. Department of Energy

Steve Creamer, President and Chief Executive Officer, EnergySolutions

Sylvia Pinel, French housing minister (invented the Loi Pinel to reduce taxes and stimulate rental housing construction in France's main cities)

Susan Eisenhower, President, The Eisenhower Group, Inc.

W. Proctor Jones, Johnston & Associates, Former Staff Director, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations

Andrew D. Lundquist, President, Lundquist Nethercutt and Griles, Former Director, National Energy Policy Development Group

William F. Martin, Chairman, Washington Policy & Analysis Inc., Former Deputy Secretary of Energy

Bart R. Olson, Vice President and General Manager, ATK Tactical Propulsion & Controls

Dr. Jerry Paul, Dinstinguished Fellow on Energy Policy, Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, University of Tennessee

Dr. David B. Prior, Executive Vice President and Provost, Texas A&M University

Darrel A. Rice, Partner, Haynes and Boone LLP

Dr. John I. Sackett, Former Associate Laboratory Director for Engineering Research, Argonne National Laboratory

Dr. Thomas L. Sanders, Vice President/President-Elect, American Nuclear Society

Dr. Les E. Shephard, Vice President, Energy and Infrastructure Assurance, Sandia National Laboratories

Dr. Alvin W. Trivelpiece, Former Director, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Former President, Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation

John C. Tuck, Senior Public Policy Advisor, Baker Donelson, Former Under Secretary of Energy

John K. Welch, President and Chief Executive Officer, USEC Inc.

Corporate Officers of the American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness

Scott L. Campbell, President - scampbell@nuclearcompetitiveness.org

Dr. Alvin W. Trivelpiece, Secretary and Treasurer

John F. Kotek, Executive Director - jkotek@nuclearcompetitiveness.org

Baker Botts, General Counsel