U.S. Nuclear Energy Revival: A New Era

In the U.S., nuclear energy is making a comeback after years of stagnation. As public perception broadly shifts in favor of nuclear energy, the government announces widespread spending across the nuclear power industry, including conventional power plants and innovative, small-scale nuclear projects. The resurgence of nuclear power has been supported by an increase in demand for clean energy, particularly from the tech industry, which is searching for green energy sources to power the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. 

Public Perception has Greatly Improved

A Pew Research Center survey from May this year showed that 56% of Americans surveyed were in favor of developing more nuclear power plants to generate electricity. This is a stark contrast to the public opinion of nuclear power from just a decade ago. In 2019, for the first time in 36 years of surveys on the public perception of nuclear energy, a majority of Americans said they supported nuclear power. 

A survey from March showed that most of those surveyed supported government intervention in the sector, with 41% in favor of the government encouraging the production of nuclear energy. Although 36% of participants said the government should not influence the sector for or against more nuclear power production. 

The U.S. currently has 94 nuclear reactors, with the most recent commencing operations in Georgia this spring. There are 48 reactors operating in the South of the country, 22 in the Midwest, 18 in the Northeast, and six in the West. The number of nuclear reactors has fallen in recent decades, from 111 in 1990. Most of the reactors still in operation commenced activities in the 1970s or 1980s, with few new reactors added over the last three decades. 

Biden Administration Support and Funding

Public investment in nuclear energy has risen under the Biden administration, in line with aims for a transition away from fossil fuels to clean alternatives. Despite the poor public perception in past decades, nuclear power continues to play a major role in the U.S.’s energy sector, contributing around 19% of energy production. It also directly employs almost 60,000 workers. 

In addition to investing in renewable energy projects, the Biden administration has emphasized its commitment to nuclear power and the deployment of more capacity as part of the green transition. The White House stated that this era marks “the largest sustained push to accelerate civil nuclear deployment in the United States in nearly five decades.” In July, President Biden signed the Fire Grants and Safety Act into law. The act, also known as the ADVANCE Act, is expected to speed up the deployment and licensing of new reactors at a rate not seen since the 1970s. 

Earlier in the year, in May, Biden gathered sectoral experts in a summit on domestic nuclear deployment and announced he would be establishing a Nuclear Power Project Management and Delivery working group to identify opportunities for new nuclear production projects, with a focus on reducing expense and mitigating project development delays. 

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) allocated around $6 billion to the nuclear energy sector. This funding is contributing to a wide range of projects, including conventional reactor deployment, research and development into small nuclear reactors (SMRs), and the development of the domestic uranium production industry. 

Tech Companies Need More Clean Energy to Power Data Centers

In addition to increased government support for nuclear power, the sector is attracting several private players. With the growth of the SMR industry – advanced nuclear reactors that are cheaper, modular and much smaller than conventional reactors – more private companies are venturing into nuclear power. The nuclear firm TerraPower, which was co-founded by Bill Gates, is developing its SMR technology and aims to launch a nuclear energy production site in Wyoming by the end of the decade. 

Several non-energy companies are also investing heavily in nuclear power, hoping it will provide them with clean power for decades to come. With the demand for power increasing rapidly, tech companies are looking for ways to meet the demand created by AI and other advanced technologies. Approximately one-third of nuclear power plants in the U.S. are in discussions with tech companies to provide electricity for data centers, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

In 2021, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, invested $375 in the nuclear fusion startup Helion Energy. Last year, Microsoft signed a deal to buy power from Helion starting in 2028. Meanwhile, the nuclear fission company Oklo is also planning to build a massive network of SMRs in Idaho and two commercial plants in southern Ohio to power data centers. 

The combination of increased public funding in nuclear energy and rising private sector interest in the sector – further supported by the shift of public perception in favor of nuclear power – is bringing about a new nuclear power era in the U.S. In the coming decades, we can expect to see a resurgence in the construction of nuclear power plants, as well as alternative nuclear projects – such as SMRs, and the development of the domestic uranium production industry.