This summer I had the opportunity to work at the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry group for nuclear power in the US. Nuclear power has the potential to be one of the most powerful tools to fight climate change, but to do so, industry, stakeholders, and regulators need to be ready for the challenges ahead. At NEI, I got to directly engage with these challenges, attending industry conferences, participating in regulatory meetings, and reaching out to utilities.

I worked on projects that stand to help the industry overcome the regulatory challenges it faces today. On one project, I gathered information from regulatory documents and surveyed nuclear utilities on their implementation of risk informed regulation. The NRC takes into account the risk significance of activities when defining regulation, in order to ensure safety while eliminating unnecessary regulatory burden, but the methods of risk evaluation differ across facilities. By gathering this information, I helped to harmonize methods, and share best practices across the industry. On another project, I identified how the research reactor licensing pathway could potentially accelerate the deployment of advanced reactors. This project will help NEI support the reactor builders that are or could pursue this pathway, bringing advanced reactors to market faster.

At NEI, I managed to understand the nuclear industry outside the lab and classroom, and made a real contribution to the industry. I met the people that are building the future, and gained an honest picture of the struggles and opportunities nuclear power faces in helping to decarbonize the world.