Abstract
In the US, energy technologies require constituencies -- large groups of people (policy actors and voters) who rally to support a technology because it addresses a core issue that concerns or benefits them. For example, both solar and wind energy technologies have garnered widespread support among the US public, largely because of the recognized role these technologies can play in mitigating the effects of climate change. Partially as a result of the efforts of these constituencies, the use of solar and wind energy in the US has grown tremendously over the last decade. At the same time, the role of nuclear energy in the US has been stagnant and declining because of early plant closures and the lack of new reactors. Nuclear energy offers several key benefits, including its potential contribution to – decarbonizing the energy sector, grid stability, fuel diversification, energy independence, and high-paying jobs. Arguably one of the most important reasons that nuclear energy has stagnated in the US is because it lacks a strong constituency. This talk aims to explore pockets of support (or lack thereof) for nuclear energy among members of the US public and analyze the potential basis for that support.

Bio
Kuhika Gupta is the Associate Director of Energy and Security at OU’s Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (IPPRA). She received her Ph.D. in Political Science and Public Policy from the University of Oklahoma in 2013. She also holds a B.A. in Political Science from Delhi University, India and an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Warwick, UK. She has spent over a decade studying public perceptions regarding nuclear energy as well as the social, political, and institutional factors that influence nuclear facility siting from a global comparative perspective.