COUNTRY PAVILLIONS | WNE2025 USA: Plans for a global powerhouse
Still the global number one for nuclear generation, the USA has revealed plans that aim to establish the country as a global nuclear powerhouse by adding at least 300 GW of new nuclear capacity over the coming decades to 2050
This image: The 800 MWe Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, USA, is now being recommissioned
With 94 operable reactors the USA remains the global number one in terms of nuclear power. Combined, these units produced not far of a fifth of the nation’s electricity. Perhaps more significantly, according to the WNA the USA alone accounts for about 30% of the total worldwide nuclear generation with nearly 780 TWh produced in 2023. Despite this, the USA had not built any new nuclear power
stations for decades before Vogtle units 3 and 4 were completed and connected to the grid in the spring of 2023 and 2024, respectively. All that is about to change though as policies in favour of nuclear that began under the Biden administration have been reflected and amplified in Donald Trump’s second term, notably with the signing of a series of pro-nuclear executive orders in May. Designed to establish the US as the global leader in nuclear energy, among the critical measures are plans to expand nuclear capacity from approximately 100 GW today to 400 GW by 2050. To do this the country aims to facilitate increased deployment of new nuclear technologies, including Generation III+ and IV reactors, as well as small modular reactors, and microreactors. The executive orders instruct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to create an expedited approval pathway to lower the regulatory and cost barriers to entry. Among other measures announced by the White House are plans to facilitate life extensions for the current nuclear fleet and the reactivation of prematurely shuttered or partially completed nuclear facilities. This positive policy landscape, coupled with major energy
use trends such as the rise in data centre demand, is already being observed on the ground. For example, in September Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced the release of the sixth loan disbursement of up to $1.52bn to Holtec to help fund the restart of the 800 MWe Palisades Nuclear Plant in
Covert Township, Michigan. Still subject to NRC approvals, it will be the first restart of a US commercial nuclear reactor in the process of decommissioning with the plant status switching back to operational in August. The plant first began commercial operation in 1971. Meanwhile, a breakthrough UK-US nuclear deal, known as the
Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy, looks set to accelerate nuclear new build with multiple SMR projects and agreements on tighter collaboration on regulatory frameworks. The agreement will make it quicker for companies to build new nuclear power stations in both countries by accelerating the licensing process. Among the specific deals announced, US company X-Energy has revealed plans to build up to 12 small modular reactors (SMRs) at a site in the UK. Beyond this and other international initiatives, domestic efforts to build new advanced and SMRs are also gathering pace. In August, for example, California-based startup Radiant
Nuclear signed an agreement to deliver a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) microreactor to the Hill Air Force Base near Salt Lake City in Utah in 2028. More recently, in September, US-based nuclear power and
fuel recycling company Oklo held a groundbreaking ceremony at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for its first Aurora powerhouse – a sodium-cooled fast reactor that uses metal fuel – under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Reactor Pilot Program. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit for a commercial advanced fission plant. The US NRC is also currently reviewing a construction permit
application from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to build a GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge. TVA anticipates preliminary site preparation work could begin as early as next year.
www.neimagazine.com | WNE Special Edition | 97
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