SBU Hosts 2nd Annual Environmental Forum on Nuclear Energy’s Role in Climate Solutions

Experts from Stony Brook University gathered on Governors Island for a robust discussion on nuclear energy’s role in achieving climate goals during the second annual Stony Brook University Global Environmental Forum.

Hosted by Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth in partnership with The New York Climate Exchange, the April 24 event brought together more than 100 participants from Stony Brook, the Georgia Institute of Technology, New York University and members of the public who had attended The Exchange’s Climate Solutions Summit NYC earlier in the week.

The forum, held in the renovated “Climate Chapel” on Governors Island, began with students from NYU’s debate team examining the resolution regarding nuclear energy’s role in addressing climate change. Following the debate, a panel of experts shared perspectives on nuclear energy’s future, economics, safety considerations and environmental impacts.

“Part of our mission with the Collaborative for the Earth is to be a place for conversation and debate and tough questions,” said Heather Lynch, C4E director and the endowed chair for ecology and evolution in the Institute for Advanced Computational Science. “We’re really digging deep to tackle the issues that unite us, but even more importantly, the ones that divide us.”

The panel featured several Stony Brook faculty members including Lance Snead, research professor and a nuclear engineer who has spent his career working on fusion and fission technologies; Jason Trelewicz, an associate professor and joint faculty member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee; David Sprouster, an assistant professor in the Department of Material Science and Chemical Engineering who focuses on nuclear materials research; and Nicholas Fisher, distinguished professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences who studies the impacts of nuclear accidents on marine ecosystems.

Snead emphasized that nuclear power already provides about half of America’s carbon-free energy, with renewables supplying the rest. “It’s not an either-or solution,” Snead said. “We’re not going to decide to just do wind or solar. We need to consider maybe geothermal, maybe nuclear.”

Several panelists addressed safety concerns, with Snead characterizing incidents at Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor and in Fukushima, Japan, as relative “success stories” from a safety perspective, noting the remarkably low death toll compared to the health impacts from fossil fuel alternatives.

Fisher discussed public perception issues surrounding nuclear energy, noting that fear often stems from misunderstanding. “Everyone’s scared about [radioactivity], but they don’t even know what it is,” Fisher said. He suggested that radioactive waste disposal in geologically stable areas of the ocean floor could be a viable option that would present “virtually no harm either to marine organisms or to human beings.” He acknowledged that there are significant geopolitical barriers from those considerations. 

Trelewicz spoke about innovations in nuclear materials that could support advanced reactor development. “SMRs [Small Modular Reactors] are only one component of nuclear energy,” added Sprouster, encouraging attendees to explore the diverse concepts being developed.

The economic viability of nuclear energy emerged as a significant topic during the panel discussion. Snead referenced analyses showing that geothermal, wind and nuclear power have overlapping levelized costs of electricity. However, he noted that when considering the backup natural gas generation required for intermittent renewable sources, nuclear becomes competitive from both economic and carbon perspectives.

Georgia Tech professors Anna Erickson and Steven Biegalski complemented the Stony Brook contingent, providing additional perspectives on nuclear security, workforce development, and international competition in nuclear technology deployment.

During a lively Q&A session, panelists fielded questions about utility adoption, public perception, career opportunities and potential health impacts. When asked about the Trump administration’s stance on nuclear energy, panelists noted that support for nuclear power has remained consistent across several administrations, with current indicators — including the immense amount of energy required to power advanced data centers, such as to support artificial intelligence — suggesting continued support for nuclear development.

Stephen Hammer, CEO of The New York Climate Exchange, highlighted the importance of cross-institutional collaboration in addressing climate challenges. “Our goal at The Exchange is really to broaden what that conversation sounds like,” Hammer said. “Nuclear power could be an engineering conversation, an economics conversation, an environmental conversation, a jobs conversation.”

Lynch added that by breaking down disciplinary barriers, Stony Brook aims to foster comprehensive approaches to environmental challenges.