JOINING ME IN THE CENTER RING IS A POWERFUL GENTLEMAN IN HIS OWN RIGHT.

UTAH CONGRESSMAN JOHN CURTIS SERVES ON THE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE INCLUDING AS VICE-CHAIR OF THE ENERGY, CLIMATE AND GRID SECURITY SUBCOMMITTEE, AMONG OTHERS.

HE'S THE PERFECT PERSON TO SPEAK TO ABOUT NUCLEAR ENERGY AND MORE.

WELCOME CONGRESSMAN.• HOW ARE YOU TODAY?

>> I'M GOOD.

I'M WRESTLING BETWEEN SAYING FORMER CONGRESSMAN AND JOHN AND ALL OF THOSE GOOD THINGS.

BUT I ALSO PUT NEW THAT POWERFUL GENTLEMAN CATEGORY AS WELL.

IT'S GREAT TO TALK TO YOU.

>> I WON'T PUT YOU IN A DIFFICULT POSITION BY ASKING YOU IF AND YOUR COLLEAGUES MISS ME IN CONGRESS.

BUT WE ARE HERE TO TALK ABOUT NUCLEAR ENERGY AND IN PARTICULAR NEXT GENERATION NUCLEAR ENERGY.

MAYBE WE CAN START BRIEFLY WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN CONGRESS?

YOUR EFFORTS TO WORK AS A REPUBLICAN MEMBER OF CONGRESS TOWARDS A MORE CARBON-FREE ENVIRONMENT AND WHAT APPLICATION DOES NEXT-GEN NUCLEAR POWER HAVE IN THAT EFFORT?

>> THANKS, JOHN.

A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW ME BY THE CONSERVATIVE CLIMATE CAUCUS I SOUNDED SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

AT THE TIME EVERYBODY SAID YOU CAN'T FIND MORE THAN A HALF DOZEN REPUBLICANS THAT WILL TALK ABOUT CLIMATE.

IT WILL NEVER WORK.

TODAY I'M REALLY PROUD TO SAY THERE ARE 85 HOUSE REPUBLICANS THAT ARE PART OF THIS CONSERVATIVE CLIMATE CAUCUS.

AND AS THE NAME DENOTES, WE ARE CONSERVATIVES BUT WE ALSO WANT TO TALK ABOUT CLIMATE.

AND WE THINK, BY LEANING INTO IT, INSTEAD OF TELLING EVERYBODY WHAT WE DON'T LIKE, WHICH WE HAVE BEEN REALLY GOOD AT.

WE WANT TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT WE WOULD DO AND WHAT WE WOULD ADVOCATE FOR.

AND NUCLEAR IS WAY UP ON THE TOP OF THAT LIST, AND YOU MAY REMEMBER THERE WAS A TIME WHEN OUR DEMOCRATIC COLLEAGUES WERE A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH IT.

BUT TODAY IT'S HARD TO FIND ANYBODY RIGHT OR LEFT WHO DOESN'T AGREE THAT NUCLEAR IS A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR FUTURE.

>> AND WHY IS THAT, CONGRESSMAN?

>> WELL, SO I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THREE PIECES.

ONE IS AFFORDABILITY, ANOTHER IS RELIABILITY AND ANOTHER IS THE CLEANLINESS.

NUCLEAR HITS IT OUT OF THE PARK ON RELIABILITY.

IT HITS IT OUT OF THE PARK ON CLEANLINESS.

IT'S STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW ON COST, AFFORDABILITY; MOSTLY BECAUSE WE TOOK A WHOLE GENERATION OFF OF INNOVATING AND BUILDING.

AND SO NOW WE ARE BUILDING THESE ONE OFF PLANTS.

OF COURSE THEY'RE VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE AND I THINK MOST PEOPLE FEEL LIKE ONCE WE GET UP TO SCALE WITH NUCLEAR, YOU WILL HIT THE TRIFECTA OF AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE AND CLEAN.

THERE ARE VERY FEW ENERGY SOURCES THAT DO THAT.

>> YEAH, SO JUST WHEN YOU SAY CLEAN, YOU MEAN CARBON-FREE EMISSIONS.

IN FACT NUCLEAR IS 100% CASH CSH FREE EMISSIONS.

NO CARBON GOING INTO THE AIR, CORRECT?

>> IT'S A SHORTCUT FOR ME TO SAY CLEAN BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO INTO THE WEEDS, DIFFERENT TYPES OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

BUT I THINK IT IS ACKNOWLEDGED BY REALLY EVERYBODY.

LIKE YOU SAY, ZERO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, IT'S HARD TO GET CLEANER THAN THAT.

THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH WASTE.

AND I THINK THAT'S A REALISTIC CONCERN.

AND I ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT WE WILL INNOVATE OUR WAY AROUND THAT AS WELL.

I THINK THINGS LIKE RECYCLING AND OTHER TECHNOLOGY WILL HELP SOLVE THAT.

BUT IT'S HARD TO BEAT THE CLEANLINESS OF NUCLEAR.

>> SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT NUCLEAR POWER AND THE CURRENT APPLICATIONS OF IT, I'VE READ RECENTLY, AMAZON IS GETTING INTO THE GAME FOR GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND BILL GATES, OBVIOUSLY HAS GOT A COMPANY THAT IS INVOLVED IN IT.

AND MICROSOFT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE LEANING INTO IT.

AND I THINK THEY'RE DOING IT BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND THAT NOT ONLY ARE WE TRYING TO GO TO A MORE CARBON FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, LOOK AT CLIMATE CHANGES AND WHAT HAVE YOU.

BUT ALSO BECAUSE THE DEMANDS GOING FORWARD WITH ALL THESE NEW SOURCES OF TECHNOLOGY, LIKE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ARE TREMENDOUS.

SO HOW DOES THE NEXT GENERATION NUCLEAR-- FIRST OF ALL, WHAT IS NEXT GENERATION NUCLEAR AND HOW DOES THAT HELP IN THAT REGARD?

>> I LOVE THE QUESTION BECAUSE I'M SMILING BECAUSE I THINK IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK WHAT NEXT GENERATION IS.

FOR ME, THERE IS SEVERAL INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED AND EXPERIMENTED WITH.

SOME, FOR INSTANCE, MOLTEN SALT.

YOU MENTION SMALL NUCLEAR REACTORS.

EVEN SMALLER THAN THE SMRs, REACTORS THAT GO ON THE BACK OF A SEMI-TRUCK AND BE DELIVERED.

AND YOU KNOW, JUST TOTALLY ECLIPSING OUR PARENTS.

THE BEST WAY I LIKE TO SAY IT, IT IS NOT OUR PARENTS NUCLEAR.

THERE WERE SAFETY CONCERNS, A NUMBER OF ISSUES AND WERE QUICKLY RESOLVING THOSE.

IT'S VERY EXCITING.

YOU MENTION DEMAND.

HERE IN UTAH, WE ARE STATE OF JUST OVER THREE MILLION PEOPLE AND WE HAVE THESE A.I.

CENTERS THAT ONE OF THEM WANTS A GIG AND A HALF.

THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO A VERY, VERY LARGE NUCLEAR PLANT AND AND A HALF OR YOU COULD CALL IT FIVE OR SIX SMRs JUST FOR THAT ONE A.I.

FACILITY.

ANOTHER FACILITY I'M TALKING TO IN UTAH THAT WANTS 10 GIGS.

10 INCREDIBLY LARGE NUCLEAR REACTORS.

THE GROWTH DEMANDS OF OUR ENERGY IS FAR EXCEEDING WHAT MANY OF US THOUGHT OF SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

>> CONGRESSMAN,ITE IT SEEMS LIKE WE ARE AT CROSS PRIORITIES.

WE HAVE THESE HUGE INCREASE IN DEMANDS THAT ARE COMING.

EVERYONE IS ACKNOWLEDGING BUT ALSO EVERYONE IS ACKNOWLEDGING WE HAVE TO CLEAN UP THE AIR AND THAT'S HAVING NEGATIVE EFFECTS BY NOT DOING IT.

WE ARE TRYING TO REDUCE THE CARBON EMISSIONS.

AND DO YOU THINK WE CAN EVEN BEGIN TO ATTAIN THE GOALS WE NEED TO WITH A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT WITHOUT THE APPLICATION OF NUCLEAR POWER?

>> NO, BUT I'LL SAY PERHAPS EVEN MORE PROBLEMATIC I THINK THE U.S. CAN ACHIEVE OUR GOALS AND BEE WILL DO IT WITH NUCLEAR AND OTHER INNOVATIONS WE ARE WORKING ON.

I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD.

AND I THINK IT HAS FRUSTRATED REPUBLICANS IN THE PAST.

YOU PUT ALL THESE RESTRICTIONS ON U.S.

BUSINESSES FOR CARBON AND WE TURN A BLIND EYE TO WHAT IS HAPPENING OVERSEAS AND IN THE REALITY IF WE DON'T GET THEM ON BOARD AND FIGURE OUT,000 MAKE THIS A WORLDWIDE EFFORT, WE ARE FOOLING OURSELVES.

>> YEAH, AND BRIEFLY YOU CAN JUST SAY YES OR MONTH NO, IT'S FAIR TO SAY CHINA IS ALLOWED TO BUILD AS MANY COAL BURNING POWER PLANTS UNTIL 2030 AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO TELL THEM THEY HAVE TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE AND THAT WON'T HAPPEN, I DON'T THINK.

>> THINK ABOUT THIS.

I HAVE A COUNTY, I LIKE TO SMILE AND SAY CARBON COUNTY AND THEN I SAY WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE THEY DO IN CARBON COUNTY AND WE JUST ARE SHUTTING DOWN THEIR COAL PLANT AND COAL MINES.

HOW DO YOU THINK THEY FEEL WHEN WE SHUT THEM DOWN AND WE KIND OF TURN A BLIND EYE TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CHINA?

AND YOU CAN SEE WHY THEY PUSH BACK AND FIGHT THAT.

>> YEAH, YOU KNOW, THERE IS A LOT OF DIFFERENT TENTACLES.

BUT IT'S A LOT THAT WE ARE ALL TRYING TO GET TO A BETTER ENVIRONMENT AND CLEAN ENERGY IS OBVIOUSLY THE WAY TO GO.

AND YOU KNOW, WE GOT TO BE LEADERS IN THE WORLD LIKE WE ALWAYS HAVE.

WE COULD TALK ABOUT THIS FOR ANOTHER THREE DAYS BUT WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR INPUTTING AND GOOD LUCK IN THE FALL.

>> THANK YOU AND JOHN, WE DO MISS YOU, ALL OF US.

WELL, MANY OF US.

>> SOME OF YOU.