April 22-24, 2025 | Idaho Falls, Idaho

In April, the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA), in conjunction with the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL), hosted the fourth annual ECA Forum: Moving New Nuclear Projects Forward. The event brought together DOE, federal, state, local, Tribal governments, and policymakers with private sector developers, utilities, industry, regulators, and academia. The agenda reflected the rapid pace of change in the nuclear sector. Nearly 250 attendees came to Idaho Falls to explore the opportunities, challenges, and partnerships currently underway to support new nuclear development in the United States and beyond.

Keynote speakers for the opening sessions included Congressman Mike Simpson of Idaho (ID-2) and Dr. Michael Goff, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Nuclear Energy. On the second morning, David Wright, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, kicked off the day’s agenda.

Snapshot sessions by Kristen Ellis, DOE-EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Regulatory and Policy Affairs, and Stephanie Weir, National Technical Director for Collaboration-Based Siting, provided details on related nuclear initiatives in their respective program offices.

Key takeaways from the event included:

New federal policies are propelling new nuclear development and project planning.
Local ambitions align with today’s federal momentum to maintain and deploy nuclear power.
A transitioning workforce can accelerate the industry’s renewal. Opportunities exist for energy communities, like those evaluating coal-to-nuclear transitions, to leverage existing training and retraining programs to create new jobs.
The past is prologue – valuable lessons inform today’s approaches to licensing, construction, siting and community engagement around nuclear projects.
American nuclear deployments set the pace for global sector leadership.

ECA was founded to give communities a voice in national energy decisions. The New Nuclear Forum remains proof of that promise in action and all that it can accomplish. Planning for the 2026 Forum is already underway, and ECA looks forward to the progress reports anticipated when stakeholders convene again in South Carolina.

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