Politicians and the public alike doubt the ability of nuclear power in the United States to compete as a significant low-carbon emission contributor to electricity production in a fully decarbonized electricity sector. Establishing whether or not these doubts are justified is challenged by the complexity of the highly disaggregated US electricity markets, including the highly varied mix of subsidies, production credits, and power purchase mandates that exist at the individual state level. The authors focus on answering the question of nuclear power’s competitiveness by examining the electricity market of Sweden, a nation which has already fully decarbonized its electricity sector, basing its electricity generation entirely on a mix of hydroelectric power, nuclear power, and the use of biofuels, with much smaller contributions from renewables such as solar PV and wind-generated power. In this market, nuclear power is an effective competitor against renewable power generation.

What the United States can and cannot learn about windmills from Europe, long the world leader in this form of renewable energy.

It is unlikely that fusion will contribute in a major way to President Biden’s goal of decarbonizing US electrical energy production by 2035. However, between 2035 and 2100, the worldwide demand for energy is expected to climb fourfold. To meet this demand while not driving global warming, low-carbon energy sources such as fusion will need to be used on a growing scale.

This Nuclear Notebook examines China’s nuclear arsenal, which has now surpassed France’s as the world’s third largest. The authors estimate that China's stockpile now includes roughly 350 operational warheads with more in production. The stockpile is projected to increase further in the next decade but remains significantly smaller than that of Russia or the United States.