The total solar eclipse is a reminder of the importance of clean and reliable nuclear energy.
August 21, 2017
minute read time
For most of us, the total solar eclipse today is a once or twice in a lifetime event. A 70-mile wide shadow of the moon will race across the United States at more than 1,000 miles an hour, completely blocking out the sun in certain locations for up two and a half minutes! Here in the Office of Nuclear Energy, we are ready and waiting with our solar eclipse glasses. For those responsible for providing electrical power, the event today represents an interesting test of the resilience of our electrical grid.
While solar power is increasingly providing key contributions to our Nation’s clean energy mix, the eclipse is a reminder of the importance of clean and reliable nuclear energy. The partial blockage of the sun will significantly impact solar power generation throughout the United States well beyond the path of the 70-mile wide shadow. During the eclipse, the country will abruptly lose and then regain about 9 MW of solar power generation. Some efforts to address this disruption included requests to reduce electricity use. For example, although California will experience only a partial eclipse, the California Public Utilities Commission asked customers to reduce electricity use from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. hoping to decrease electricity use statewide by 3,500 megawatts. However, across the country, the majority of the shortfall in solar power generation is planned to be made up by a quick response of natural gas units. Natural gas can swiftly fill the gap, but will also generate greenhouse gas emissions. As we contemplate the importance of a diverse and resilient energy mix, it is important to remember that approximately 20 percent of our Nation’s electricity and 60 percent of its clean energy comes from nuclear energy, which supplies reliable, emissions-free electricity around the clock.
Our nation’s energy security requires us to recognize that interruptions, whether natural or manmade, are possible and overreliance on a single source of electricity is not a robust energy policy. Happily, our power generation resources have become more diverse throughout the years and nuclear power continues to work together with other energy sources to ensure we always have access to clean, efficient electricity. Nuclear energy is one more thing to celebrate today, so from all us here at the Office of Nuclear Energy, happy #EclipseDay!
Edward McGinnis
Edward McGinnis was formerly the acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy. Prior to that role, he served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Nuclear Energy Policy and Cooperation. As Deputy Assistant Secretary, he was responsible for the Department of Energy's international civilian nuclear energy activities, including international nuclear energy research, development and demonstration cooperation, multilateral nuclear energy cooperation, international nuclear energy policy, international nuclear safety cooperation, and advocacy for U.S. civil nuclear exports and industry. As part of these responsibilities, Mr. McGinnis served as Steering Group Chairman of the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation that consists of more than 65 countries and 4 international organizations. He also served as the Departmental Representative in the U.S. interagency for civil nuclear energy trade and promotion. Mr. McGinnis has also served as a Vice Chairman and Principal U.S. Representative to the Generation IV International Forum and was responsible for U.S. domestic nuclear fuel assurance matters, including technical oversight activities regarding the United States Enrichment Corporation, uranium inventory management matters, as well as U.S. nuclear energy security matters.
Prior to working in the Office of Nuclear Energy, Mr. McGinnis led a number of other high-priority U.S. government initiatives at DOE, including having served as the senior director for the Office of Global Radiological Threat Reduction where he managed global operations involving the search, recovery, security, and disposal of high-risk radiological and nuclear sources in cooperation with over 40 countries, including within the United States. These activities included recovery of high-risk radiological sources from Iraq, establishment of a Global Radiological Regional Partnership Program, and the first-of-its-kind repatriation of high-risk U.S.-origin plutonium-239 sources. Mr. McGinnis also established and served as the director of the Nuclear and Radiological Threat Reduction Task Force, which was created to carry out a number of key Secretarial national security initiatives, including the development of a global nuclear materials removal and research reactor security study that included the identification of nuclear research reactors throughout the world by level of vulnerability and an action plan to effectively mitigate such vulnerabilities.
Mr. McGinnis also served as senior advisor and special assistant to four Assistant Secretaries and Deputy Administrators for nonproliferation and national security at the Department of Energy where he served as a senior advisor for all aspects of the Department's nonproliferation missions, including nonproliferation research and development, materials protection, control and accounting, and warhead security.
Edward McGinnis is the acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy. The Office is responsible for conducting research on current and future nuclear energy systems, maintaining the government’s nuclear energy research infrastructure, establishing a path forward for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste management program, and a host of other national priorities.
Prior to this role, he served as the former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Nuclear Energy Policy and Cooperation. As Deputy Assistant Secretary, he was responsible for the Department of Energy's international civilian nuclear energy activities, including international nuclear energy research, development and demonstration cooperation, multilateral nuclear energy cooperation, international nuclear energy policy, international nuclear safety cooperation, and advocacy for U.S. civil nuclear exports and industry. As part of these responsibilities, Mr. McGinnis served as Steering Group Chairman of the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation that consists of more than 65 countries and four international organizations. He also served as the Departmental Representative in the U.S. interagency for civil nuclear energy trade and promotion. Mr. McGinnis has also served as a Vice Chairman and Principal U.S. Representative to the Generation IV International Forum and was responsible for U.S. domestic nuclear fuel assurance matters, including technical oversight activities regarding the United States Enrichment Corporation, uranium inventory management matters, as well as U.S. nuclear energy security matters.
Prior to working in the Office of Nuclear Energy, Mr. McGinnis led a number of other high-priority U.S. government initiatives at DOE, including having served as the senior director for the Office of Global Radiological Threat Reduction where he managed global operations involving the search, recovery, security and disposal of high-risk radiological and nuclear sources in cooperation with over 40 countries, including within the U.S. These activities included recovery of high-risk radiological sources from Iraq, establishment of a Global Radiological Regional Partnership Program, and the first-of-its-kind repatriation of high-risk U.S.-origin plutonium-239 sources. Mr. McGinnis also established and served as the director of the Nuclear and Radiological Threat Reduction Task Force, which was created to carry out a number of key Secretarial national security initiatives, including the development of a global nuclear materials removal and research reactor security study that included the identification of nuclear research reactors throughout the world by level of vulnerability and an action plan to effectively mitigate such vulnerabilities.
Mr. McGinnis also served as senior advisor and special assistant to four Assistant Secretaries and Deputy Administrators for nonproliferation and national security at the Department of Energy where he served as a senior advisor for all aspects of the Department's nonproliferation missions, including nonproliferation research and development, materials protection, control and accounting, and warhead security.
Mr. McGinnis holds a master's degree from The American University's School of International Service in Washington, D.C., and is a graduate of the Kennedy School's Senior Executive Fellows Program as well as the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at Harvard University.