Billionaire’s Nuclear Dream: House of Cards Returns for Season 2

D.C., rejoice! Season 2 of "House of Cards" is almost here. If you haven’t seen the first season, spend your snow day binge-watching because tomorrow we get the next chapter in this thrilling political drama. The award-winning series—centered on Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood, House Majority Whip and ultimate political schemer—is filled with nuanced characters, excellent performances and unexpected plot twists.

Want an even better reason to watch? Nuclear energy gets some time to shine. Energy is touched upon peripherally throughout the series, and by season's end, the plot hits upon the nation’s energy supply and nuclear’s role in it. For those wanting a quick recap of how nuclear energy ties in during season 1, read on.

[Spoilers ahead] In the penultimate episode, Underwood visits billionaire Raymond Tusk to vet him as a possible replacement for Vice President. Tusk, an influential friend of the President, is a big investor in nuclear power:

Underwood: You think I could get a tour of your Fulton Plant while I’m in town?

Tusk: If you’d like, but I don’t know why you’d want to be there when you can be out here.

Underwood: I’ve never seen a nuclear plant.

Tusk: Not much to see. Steel. Concrete. A lot of steam.

Underwood: The President hasn't exactly been a big supporter of nuclear power. Is that part of your hesitation, the fear that the administration might –

Tusk: He's just being savvy. Nuclear energy is a tough sell after Japan. But it's the only option we have right now that doesn't completely trash the planet. The argument against nuclear power is an emotional one.

[Bigger spoilers ahead] We later find out that Tusk has actually been vetting Underwood for the Vice Presidency during this visit. Tusk offers his stamp of approval provided that Underwood returns “one and only one” favor (one which is quite the anticlimactic reveal given the dark turns this series took before this point, but I digress). Not willing to be controlled, Underwood doesn’t even wait to hear what Tusk wants. He tries to set up a hostile takeover of Tusk's nuclear subsidiaries to distract him and ultimately stop him from becoming the nominee for Vice President.

In the end, Tusk outmaneuvers Underwood in a way that ensures his nuclear investments won’t be touched. He is still willing to back Underwood for Vice President, as long as Underwood uses his influence to secure favorable trade tariffs with China. Why? Tusk needs Samarium-149 for his reactors, and “China controls 95% of the world’s supply.”

Admittedly, the end of the season is where the plot is weakest and starts departing from reality. But what the writers do get right is the influential billionaire investing in nuclear energy and China becoming a major player in the nuclear industry.

Regardless of some flawed logic, this storyline accurately reflects the growing importance of nuclear and its role in a diverse energy mix. Tune in tomorrow to see where it goes in season 2.

Side note: Most of the characters involved in this storyline are motivated by personal gain, but Tusk may truly care about promoting a clean, affordable and reliable energy source for America. He seems at least partly motivated by the fact that nuclear energy won’t destroy the 6,000 acres in his backyard. (That’s correct, 6,000.) Maybe this pro-nuclear billionaire is really being positioned as the good guy. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for his newsboy cap and recitation of Walt Whitman. Guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

Fluor Invests in NuScale

You know, it’s kind of sad that no one is willing to invest in nuclear energy anymore. Wait, what? NuScale Power celebrated the news of its company-saving $30 million investment from Fluor Corp. Thursday morning with a press conference in Washington, D.C. Fluor is a design, engineering and construction company involved with some 20 plants in the 70s and 80s, but it has not held interest in a nuclear energy company until now. Fluor, which has deep roots in the nuclear industry, is betting big on small-scale nuclear energy with its NuScale investment. "It's become a serious contender in the last decade or so," John Hopkins, [Fluor’s group president in charge of new ventures], said. And that brings us to NuScale, which had run into some dark days – maybe not as dark as, say, Solyndra, but dire enough : Earlier this year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed an action against NuScale's lead investor, The Michael Kenwood Group. The firm "misap...

Wednesday Update

From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...

NEI Nuclear Notes

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