I visited one Chicago high school to see how a partnership like this works.
We need to find new, reliable, scalable energy sources that are as cheap or cheaper than today’s fossil fuels, but with zero carbon emissions. This is true for both the rich world as well as the developing world. One of the few technologies that could possibly fit that bill is nuclear energy. I’m involved in a startup company, TerraPower, which is working to develop a new type of reactor that would be much safer, produce much less waste, and actually use waste products from older reactors as its main fuel.
When I talked recently with energy expert Daniel Yergin, he was also interested in the potential for nuclear energy to help us overcome global energy challenges.