WASHINGTON – Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) Wrote this editorial for Roll Call describing how nuclear power can serve as a clean and powerful source of energy that can help America defend itself against the authoritarian advance of China.

“Louisians are facing rising energy prices along with falling temperatures this winter. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is pursuing policies that would further cripple the U.S. energy industry and the economy that depends on it, such as flirting with the closure of the Line 5 pipeline.

“Our CEO wants to chain America with climate commitments that could make life unnecessarily difficult for Americans struggling to pay their energy bills amid record inflation. At the same time, China, led by Xi Jinping – who, along with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, didn’t even bother to attend the recent Glasgow climate summit – continues to produce carbon emissions that surpass those of the whole developed world, and the authoritarian regime in Beijing seeks to overtake our economy.

“How can America pursue smart climate policies without crippling our economy in the face of a predatory China?” If someone were to ask the president or some of my fellow congressmen what they think is the solution to climate change, many of them would say, “Renewable energy”. So it seems curious and inconsistent that so many of them are avoiding nuclear power when it is a safe, carbon-free option that produces huge amounts of electricity. Wisdom and data suggest America needs a holistic approach to energy, which includes renewables, fossil fuels, and nuclear power.

“Nuclear power is so clean that all the waste the American commercial nuclear industry has ever produced can go into only one football field at a depth of less than 10 meters. It’s also incredibly effective. It takes more than 3 million solar panels or more than 430 wind turbines – and the hectares of land needed to house them – to produce the same amount of energy than the average nuclear power plant.

“Some may think that the benefits of nuclear power are not worth the risk. But Homer Simpson doesn’t run America’s power plants, and the industry has continued to evolve to make plants safer and more efficient.

“Small modular reactors, for example, are part of a promising new generation of advanced reactors that can automatically prevent overheating. These nuclear fission devices, which can be fabricated in a factory and brought to a site for installation, have a smaller physical footprint and produce less nuclear waste because they derive more efficiency from nuclear fuel. Some of these reactors are only about twice the length of the average school bus, while a traditional nuclear power plant is about the size of Central Park.

“Innovation doesn’t stop with small modular reactors. MIT researchers plan to build a reactor that would produce energy much like the sun does, through nuclear fusion. Compared to traditional fission plants, the waste produced during nuclear fusion is less radioactive and the raw materials that fuel fusion are more abundant than uranium.

“Fossil fuels, of course, are still a key part of America’s success. The US economy is the largest in the world and it cannot function without oil and gas. Eighty percent of America’s energy comes from fossil fuels. These resources support millions of jobs in the United States, and these jobs help make energy affordable for all Americans.

“Nuclear power adds to our country’s heritage of affordable and sustainable energy. Anyone who wants to grow the US economy and protect the environment shouldn’t overlook the power of the atom. If nuclear power does not play a prominent role in America’s energy portfolio, we will struggle to maintain our place as a world leader as China’s polluting authoritarian regime positions itself to take control of the global economy.

“Without safe and efficient fuel options like nuclear power to power America in the 21st century, the world could quickly become a darker and dirtier place. People at both ends of the political spectrum should be able to see this threat and agree that nuclear power must be part of any serious solution. “

The editorial is available here.