The United States has lost its position in the field of nuclear energy, giving way to Russia and China. This is stated in the report of the US Department of Energy for President Donald Trump and the statement of the head of this department Dan Bruyett.
“In the global competition, America has lost its leadership in nuclear power to state-owned enterprises, primarily Russian and Chinese. In addition, other competing countries are also actively trying to get around the United States, ”the report said on the website of the US Department of Energy.
The authors of the document note that due to many years of neglect of the commercial nuclear industry, the entire industry of the country - from the extraction of raw materials to the production of energy - is under serious threat of bankruptcy.
“America risks losing the ability to produce domestic nuclear fuel, which threatens its state interests and security,” the report emphasizes.
Main competitor
Moreover, the document states that Russia dominates the commercial nuclear energy market.
“In the markets of nuclear materials and technologies, Russia dominates,“ armed “with energy supplies as an instrument of coercion. Russia is increasing its economic and foreign policy influence around the world - the volume of its foreign orders for reactors is $ 133 billion, it also plans to build more than 50 reactors in 19 countries of the world, ”the US Department of Energy experts say.
- RIA News
- © Evgeny Biyatov
Meanwhile, the United States, having no orders from foreign countries, is completely not represented on the world market for the construction of new nuclear reactors, the document says.
The leading expert of the National Energy Security Fund Igor Yushkov, in a conversation with RT, noted that Russia has achieved an advantage in this area precisely because the Rosatom concern carries out the full range of works and services, including design, construction, a full cycle of operation, and training engineers and employees supervisory authorities, the disposal of spent fuel and waste, as well as the support of financial transactions.
“Fully all competencies are provided by one company - Rosatom. All other companies in other countries operate in separate segments: someone produces fuel, someone exploits, someone builds. Completely no one does the whole cycle except us, ”said Igor Yushkov.
Recall that the foreign construction of nuclear plants was carried out in the USSR since the beginning of the 1960s. So, the Soviet Atomenergoexport and Zarubezhatomenergostroy commissioned nuclear power plants in the German Democratic Republic, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Finland, Cuba and other countries. However, in the early 1990s, many of these projects were closed.
Today, Rosatom is the first in the world in the number of foreign projects. The corporation has 36 power units in 12 countries.
Russia also exports nuclear fuel, provides natural uranium enrichment services in other countries, is engaged in geological exploration and mining of uranium abroad and is creating nuclear research centers in various countries.
According to Igor Yushkov, the main advantage of Russian NPP projects for foreign customers is their availability and the ability to “test them in practice”.
“When Russia offers the construction of a nuclear power plant to other countries, it offers a tried and tested project. And any customers can come to Russia to see how it all works. And to see that this is not only a project on paper, it has already been implemented and works normally without failures. In this regard, this is one of the most key examples of why Rosatom often wins tenders around the world, ”the expert explained.
Rescue plan
To solve the key problems of the US nuclear industry, the US Department of Energy proposes restricting US companies to import nuclear fuel from Russia and China. Thus, Washington intends to prevent these countries from taking a dominant position in the field of waste processing. A similar situation presents a “geopolitical challenge” for the United States, according to a report by the energy department.
In addition, the ministry believes that the United States needs to actively enter markets where nuclear companies from Russia and China are now leading.
- © GAO
“Finally, the US government will enter markets where Russian and Chinese state-owned enterprises currently dominate, restore its position as a world leader in exporting best-in-class nuclear energy technologies, and with it high standards in the field of nuclear non-proliferation ", - the authors of the document predict.
However, experts are skeptical about such plans. According to analysts, even if the United States manages to squeeze the Russian Federation and China on the global nuclear energy market, they are unlikely to have enough resources to fill the vacuum.
“I’m not sure that they will be able to do this, since American nuclear power has been in a state of crisis lately. Also, due to the economic recession, which is now spreading to all countries, the United States will find it difficult to use the external economic situation to expand its presence in the global energy market for nuclear technologies, ”said Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences in an interview with RT.
He also suggested that Washington might try to clear a market place using unfair competition methods such as sanctions.
“Washington, of course, can again resort to restrictive measures and“ move ”Moscow and Beijing, but it is not able to provide breakthrough development of the industry. This whole situation will only lead to increased confrontation and tension in Russian-American and American-Chinese relations. In the current situation, it will look like an attempt to inflict economic damage on Russia and China, ”Vasiliev explained.
Vladimir Vasilyev recalled that the United States has already used such methods with respect to the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project in order to increase the export of American liquefied gas to Europe.
From the point of view of Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, if the United States is able to limit fuel imports from Russia and increase uranium production, this will obviously not happen in the short term.
“With the help of such measures the USA will be able to reduce the backlog from Russia, depends on how far these proposals put forward by the Department of Energy go into practical terms. Moreover, in most cases, American services in this area will be more expensive than existing Russian offers, so the United States will have to solve this problem not only economically and technologically, but also politically, ”the expert concluded.