John Kotek, a key leader in the Energy Department’s consent-based siting process for nuclear waste storage, has left his post to join the Nuclear Energy Institute as vice president for policy development and public affairs, the nuclear industry’s lobbying arm announced on Jan. 6. Kotek started in his new position on Monday.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that John Kotek is joining the Nuclear Energy Institute,” NEI President and CEO Maria Korsnick said in a statement Friday. “Beyond being one of the nation’s experts with regard to nuclear energy technology, John has a unique grasp of the nexus of policy, business and environmental considerations that will serve NEI and the nuclear energy industry extremely well.”
Kotek, who previously served several roles at DOE, rejoined the department in January 2015 as principal deputy assistant secretary in DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy before moving to acting assistant secretary in the same office. Between stints with DOE, Kotek served as managing partner of the Boise, Idaho, office of Gallatin Public Affairs, a public affairs and strategic communications consulting group. In his new role with NEI, Kotek will offer policy and public affairs leadership on financial, economic, tax, electricity market, and environmental issues as they related to the nuclear power industry.
“This is an exciting time to re-enter the commercial sector and join the NEI team,” Kotek said in the NEI release. “This is a particularly important time to advance solutions that preserve existing nuclear power plants and galvanize resources to commercialize the advanced technologies that will cement nuclear energy’s beneficial role for generations to come.”
DOE’s consent-based siting process is the Obama administration’s alternative to the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste geologic repository in Nevada, which the president canceled in 2009. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has indicated it is exploring restarting the Yucca Mountain licensing process.
NEI also announced Friday that it had promoted Beverly Marshall, the group’s acting vice president for governmental affairs for the past four months, to the position on a permanent basis.
DOE used nuclear fuel disposition office Director William Boyle said Tuesday he doesn’t think Kotek’s departure will impact the consent-based siting process. He added there are no guarantees under the Trump administration, however.
“His departure doesn’t affect anything, as far as I know, but then after the inauguration, I don’t know” what the new administration will do with consent-based siting,” Boyle said at the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management’s Spent Fuel Seminar in Washington, D.C.
DOE on Thursday released a draft document for its consent-based siting process.
