09 June 2021 Share New nuclear technologies will be needed alongside existing nuclear plants and renewables as the USA transitions to a carbon-free future, but they will continue to need legislative support at the federal and state level, utility leaders said during the opening session of the Nuclear Energy Institute's Nuclear Energy Assembly this week. (Image: NEI) "It's been an incredibly trying year - not just for our industry, but for the country as a whole. The pandemic has forced us to think differently," Nuclear Energy Institute CEO Maria Korsnick said in her opening address. "We're thinking differently about how we want to work and live. About how to strengthen our economy and our infrastructure. And when it comes to energy, we're thinking differently about the best way to reach a carbon-free future. This year, our message to the world is simple: Nuclear energy is the source that can make it all work - not just electricity production, but job creation, economic revitalisation, and decarbonisation."