The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

In 2007, Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman has plans to launch the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) as part of President Bush’s Advanced Energy Initiative. The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership is a strategy to enable the expansion of emissions-free nuclear energy worldwide with new technologies to recycle nuclear fuel, minimize waste, and, according to the Department of Energy, improve our ability to keep nuclear technologies and materials out of the hands of terrorists. Bodman is planning for the GNEP by requesting $250 million for Fiscal Year 2007.

“GNEP brings the promise of virtually limitless energy to emerging economies around the globe, in an environmentally friendly manner while reducing the threat of nuclear proliferation. If we can make GNEP a reality, we can make the world a better, cleaner, safer place to live,” Secretary Bodman said.

The need for alternative energy resources in the United States and worldwide continues to grow as the nation’s economy and economies around the world also grow. The Department of Energy believes that nuclear energy may be part of the solution. The Department of Energy calls nuclear energy “safe, environmentally clean, reliable, and affordable.” With the GNEP, the United States government will work with other nations that have advanced nuclear technologies to develop new proliferation-resistant recycling technologies so that they can produce more energy, reduce waste and reduce proliferation concerns. In addition to the recycling technologies, these countries will develop a fuel services program focused on providing nuclear fuel to developing nations that are in need of energy resources.

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership has identified its four main goals. The first goal is to reduce United States dependence on foreign oil and encourage economic growth. The second is to recycle nuclear fuel using the previously discussed proliferation-resistant technologies to utilize more energy with less waste. The third is to encourage prosperity growth and clean development worldwide. And the fourth is to utilize the latest technologies to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation worldwide.

The GNEP plans to accomplish its four goals with a strategy that includes seven elements, outlined by Secretary Bodman:

1. Building of a new generation of nuclear power plants in the United States.
2. Developing and deploying new nuclear recycling technologies.
3. Working to effectively manage and eventually store spent nuclear fuel in the United States.
4. Designing Advance Burner Reactors that would produce energy from recycled nuclear fuel.
5. Establishing a fuel services program that would allow developing nations to acquire and use nuclear energy economically while minimizing the risk of nuclear proliferation.
6. Developing and constructing small scale reactors designed for the needs of developing countries.
7. Improving nuclear safeguards to enhance the proliferation-resistance and safety of expanded nuclear power.

As the GNEP continues to be developed, the United States Department of Energy will work with the U.S. State Department to engage international partners to participate in this new initiative.

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