Nuclear

America’s economy is hungry for energy. Data centers, AI, electrification, and advanced manufacturing are driving the fastest growth in electricity demand in a generation. After decades of slow, steady growth, the grid is struggling to keep up due to aging infrastructure and long permitting timelines. Communities, businesses, and policymakers are increasingly turning to sources of clean energy like solar, wind, and nuclear power to fill the gap.

Conventional nuclear reactors have provided power to the grid since 1960, although support for nuclear energy has ebbed and flowed over the years due to its high capital cost, periods of stagnant energy demand, and three high-profile accidents (Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima). Two new developments—sharp increases in electricity demand and the emergence of small modular reactors (SMRs)---are sparking renewed interest in nuclear generation.