Using evidence-based insights to catalyze energy, climate, and sustainability solutions. Director, @LucidCatalyst. Board Member, @nuclearny. Views my own.
New York City
Joined May 2015
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Isuru Seneviratne retweeted
What do the political extremes and moderates in the U.S. have in common?
They support nuclear fuel recycling. 397-2 vote in favor 🫳🏽🎤
quiverquant.com/news/Congres…
Isuru Seneviratne retweeted
“Likewise, BAAJA will disproportionately benefit the party that wins the next presidential election, because the bill’s greatest affordability benefits will start accruing to the president who follows Donald Trump. Like all big energy bills, BAAJA will take time to work its way through the energy system. Americans won’t immediately experience cheaper bills or faster projects; after BAAJA’s passage, independent agencies such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will need to write rules governing the law’s new programs and communicate them to states, utilities, and grid managers.”
In retrospect, I think it’s clear that the Democratic tsunami strengthened the politics of permitting reform. I wrote about why: heatmap.news/daily/how-the-b…
The energy horizon: responsible power growth, @econ_enterprise event at @YaleClubNYC with @DeepIsolation
Laura: “There will be problems in the future. The industry needs to be upfront about it. Communities are willing to work with industry, but they need to see the benefits outweigh the costs. Trust is built on experience. Need to make the pieces tangible.”
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Laura: “Companies need to invest in project development. Have people in communities to identify prospective challenges before they emerge and proactively come up with solutions.”
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Isuru Seneviratne retweeted
Could nuclear energy actually make the grid cheaper? ⚛️
#EnergyTransition #NuclearEnergy
Isuru Seneviratne retweeted
Data centers as the main driver of electricity load growth? That's American exceptionalism, baby.
In its latest emissions forecast, @rhodium_group has a fascinating chart showing that buildings — air conditioning, heating, appliances — are the main drivers of electricity load growth basically everywhere but he U.S. Electric vehicles are the No. 2 rising demand in China and Western Europe.
Then there's the U.S., which, as the second chart shows, is way behind the rest of the rich world on electrification.
Isuru Seneviratne retweeted
Spearheading the nuclear fuel cycle conversation were two powerhouses, @exodysenergy and @1SuperCritical and experts Carl Perez, Gayatri Karnik and Isuru Seneviratne leading the discussion at #NuclearSymposium2026.
Thank you to the organizations for sponsoring the Symposium!
Isuru Seneviratne retweeted
Somewhat new from me: I wrote up a single post at PublicPowerReview.org on the public comments against new nuclear in New York from Democratic and socialist legislators and those in favor from labor unions. But now I've included more Union comments in support.
In particular, I'd like to draw your attention to this comment from the President of Boilermakers Local 5, with a fascinating personal stake in the state's Nuclear Reliability Backbone initiative (emphasis mine):
"I graduated from the Local 5 Apprenticeship Program while spending much of my career servicing New York’s nuclear fleet. I later spent four years working on the construction of AP1000 nuclear units at Vogtle Units 3 and 4. I went to Georgia in 2014 with the belief that it was imperative to develop the skills and experience necessary to build the next generation of nuclear power plants. This year, I ran for and was elected President of Local Lodge No. 5. A central part of my campaign was preparing our organization to help lead New York through a nuclear renaissance. I have been actively recruiting and training members for this moment since 2019. I am personally committed to ensuring the success of new nuclear development so that our communities, our members, and future generations of New Yorkers can benefit from the jobs, economic growth, and reliable energy these projects will provide."
publicpowerreview.org/p/new-…
💪 NEW YORK'S UNIONS DISAGREE WITH DEMS AND SOCIALISTS, DEMAND NUCLEAR SUPPORT 💪
In a public comment filed on the same case as the one from Democratic legislators, Climate Jobs NY expressed the exact opposite position: yes to state support for new nuclear and to Gov. Hochul's plans.
Will the state's socialists recognize they're on the opposite side of the issue from the unions? And not just any unions but those making up Climate Jobs NY, which are "united around a shared goal of combating climate change while reversing income inequality."
documents.dps.ny.gov/public/…
From the letter:
"At the outset, CJNY want to be clear that if New York is to establish a carbon-free energy sector, it must rely on nuclear power. There is no other clean firm, or baseload power that can supply industrial operations at scale. Solar, wind and battery storage are essential to our energy supply in the state, but they cannot provide all of the baseload power that our state depends on. For this reason, among others, nuclear must be a key part of New York’s energy future.
"CJNY commends the Administration and the Commission for acting to support the development of advanced nuclear energy as part of an “all-of-the-above” approach to safely and reliably meeting the State’s growing energy needs, advancing its clean energy goals, and delivering high-quality union jobs for New Yorkers. The Nuclear Reliability Backbone (“Backbone”) process represents a generational investment in New York’s energy system and its clean energy economy, and the Coalition recognizes the importance of developing firm, baseload power alongside continued investment in and deployment of renewable energy. Whether that investment is delivered on time, on budget, and safely will depend in significant part on decisions the State makes now about workforce, labor standards, and structure of its own participation in these projects."
The point of their letter, besides offering unequivocal support, is to argue for policies around the workforce needs of new nuclear projects. They lay out a few specific demands for that.
Can the Left be torn away from dead-end environmental nonprofits and renewables developers and instead align with the state's climate-focused labor unions when it comes to nuclear?
Isuru Seneviratne retweeted
BREAKING: Costco, major league baseball stadiums, and Harvard cause hundreds of thousands of cancer deaths every year.
Not really. But @econpragmatist and @Dr_A_Stein reanalysis of @HarvardChanSPH study on cancer deaths and proximity to nuclear power plants shows that you can use the exact same methodology and data to reach this conclusion.
File this study under lies, damn lies, and statistics...
Brian Smith, CTO at @INL at @AtlanticCouncil Nuclear Summit: the breakthrough the Executive Orders enabled was use the INL to accelerate testing, prototyping, and execution to enable commercial deployment. This is the role of the national labs.
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Hon. John Jovanovic, Pres/Chair of @EximBankUS at @AtlanticCouncil Nuclear Summit: look not at what the govt is doing, but what what entrepreneurs are doing
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Securing the fuel supply chain, large reactors, and small reactors are all areas for EXIM investment. We “crowd in” private capital, not make industries remain reliant on government.
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Check out my latest article: REPOWER New York: the how, and the invitation to comment linkedin.com/pulse/repower-n…
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NYS energy demand is rising for the first time in a generation - and ~4/5 of that is outside electricity. A new @TerraPraxis study makes the case: repower the state's fossil & industrial sites with advanced nuclear, and solve both problems at once. 🧵
There's a second prize in climbing that same ladder: moving from onsite builds to shipyard and factory manufacturing turns NY into an order book its own manufacturers can invest against — nuclear-grade concrete, pumps, valves, electrical systems now, reactor vessels next.
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REPOWER New York lays out what it takes to get there: five concrete decisions, five New York actors, sequenced over the next 36 months. Read the full case: terrapraxis.org/publications…
