Deep Dive Season 1: Nuclear Energy | Episode 2 - "We Need to Rebuild this Entire Industry" | Texas Nuclear Alliance Founder Reed Clay on Regulatory Reform, Rebuilding the Nuclear Workforce, & Momentum

The Diligent Observer Podcast

Today's episode explores three ideas that caught my attention:

• Perception is Reality - The discussion of nuclear waste politics surfaced how fear-based narratives can derail rational energy policy for decades.
• Nuclear = Massive Economic Development Opportunity - Reed drew a number of parallels between recent efforts to onshore the semiconductor industry – highlighting how massive industry investments create economic flourishing.
• Uri's Hidden Lesson - The revelation about cancelled expansions at Texas’ operating reactors Uri highlighted how different Texas's energy landscape might have been if some of these investments were made decades ago.

I explore these ideas and more with Reed Clay, President of the Texas Nuclear Alliance. His decade at the highest levels of government—including managing Texas's Office of State-Federal Relations and playing a key role in the state's Hurricane Harvey response—gave him deep expertise in navigating complex regulatory frameworks while driving practical results.

Before focusing on nuclear policy, Reed's work included defending federal programs at the U.S. Department of Justice and implementing major policy initiatives across Texas's executive agencies. Now, through initiatives like the groundbreaking Texas Nuclear Summit and his advocacy for strategic infrastructure investment, he's helping shape Texas's vision of becoming America's nuclear innovation hub while working to rebuild the nation's nuclear manufacturing capabilities.

During our conversation, Reed shares:

• Critical insights on regulatory reform that explain why the NRC's "precautionary mandate on top of a precautionary bureaucracy" needs restructuring.
• An analysis of nuclear's unique economic development opportunity compared to traditional energy investments in Texas.
• A highlight of four key investment categories of interest spanning utilities, SMR developers, fuel cycle innovation, and manufacturing infrastructure.

⚛️ The Nuclear Energy Investing Playbook

This episode is part of a special 5-part season on nuclear energy investing. Want to go deeper? Pre-order The Nuclear Energy Investing Playbook: An Angel's Guide.

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Chapters

1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. Texas Nuclear Summit Highlights (00:02:50)

3. Government Support for Nuclear (00:04:06)

4. Technological Advances in Nuclear (00:05:47)

5. Federal and State Government Roles (00:09:18)

6. Formation of the Texas Nuclear Alliance (00:15:52)

7. Impact of Winter Storm Uri (00:16:21)

8. Investment Opportunities in Nuclear (00:24:04)