Britt Urges Action on China's Nuclear Expansion During Senate Hearing

U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) raised concerns in a recent Senate Appropriations Committee hearing about China's rapid advancement in nuclear energy and its implications for U.S. national security and energy leadership.

"China has at least 28 nuclear reactors that are in construction, which is about half of the construction of all nuclear reactors across the entire globe," Britt stated during her questioning of Energy Secretary Chris Wright. "We know they're working to undermine us. To me, this is very similar to what we saw in the manufacturing space. They're using political and economic leverage to ultimately manipulate and get ahead."

Britt emphasized the intertwined nature of artificial intelligence (AI) and energy, asserting, "I think it's critical that we look at this, particularly within the AI space, knowing that AI is not just an AI race, it is also an energy race. And we must win both."

In response, Secretary Wright acknowledged China's aggressive nuclear development, noting, "China is moving full speed ahead with nuclear. In fact, most reactors they're building are essentially a knockoff, a stealing of an American reactor technology. But they build a much cheaper and much faster, and they don't have the giant bureaucratic regulatory overhang we have in the United States."

Wright highlighted the importance of funding through the Department of Energy's loan program office to leverage private capital for rapid development.

Senator Britt also spotlighted the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE), led by Southern Company in partnership with the Department of Energy. She described it as "transformational to that next generation nuclear energy and that type of leadership that we need to see across our nation." The MCRE aims to deliver the world's first fast-spectrum salt reactor, supporting the administration's goal of achieving American energy dominance.

Britt further elaborated on the potential of MCRE to revolutionize the commercial shipping industry, stating, "This project supports scalable, deployable, and transformational American nuclear energy."

Shortly after the hearing, President Trump signed a series of Executive Orders aimed at revitalizing the U.S. nuclear energy sector. These orders seek to expedite reactor licensing processes, promote domestic uranium production, and quadruple nuclear power output by 2050. The administration's initiative underscores the strategic importance of nuclear energy in meeting the nation's growing electricity demands, particularly from AI and other emerging technologies.

In her concluding remarks, Senator Britt addressed the Department of Energy's efforts to support Gulf Coast states during hurricane season, emphasizing the need for grid reliability and protection.

Secretary Wright responded, "It's a key issue. It is a vulnerability of our country. Our grid is very distributed, a lot of it's very antiquated. It's very easy to attack our grid and we are being attacked all the time... I agree with the problem. We are working on it, including today."

The hearing highlighted the urgency of addressing China's nuclear advancements and the necessity for the United States to bolster its own nuclear capabilities to maintain global leadership in energy and technology.

Senator Britt’s questioning is available HERE or below: