On Friday (May 23), U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at speeding up the construction of nuclear power plants, including promoting small modular reactor (SMR) technology, which has yet to be deployed in the U.S. Although these new designs remain largely unproven, they hold potential for rapid deployment. The move is intended both to address an impending surge in electricity demand and to help the U.S. regain dominance in the nuclear energy sector. Over the past three decades, the U.S. has built only two new nuclear reactors while shutting down multiple existing facilities, even as China and Russia have rapidly expanded their nuclear power programs.
Trump views nuclear energy as a supplement rather than a replacement for fossil fuels, and his new policy is expected to advance this zero-emission power source. While nuclear power is seen as a cleaner alternative to coal and natural gas, the White House emphasized that the technology will complement traditional energy sources. The policy’s urgency is further underscored by tech companies’ skyrocketing electricity demands for data centers.
The new policy will benefit SMR developers, including Last Energy Inc., Oklo, TerraPower LLC, and NuScale Power Corp.
Additionally, the plan calls for breaking ground on 10 new large-scale conventional reactors by 2030, which could benefit Westinghouse Electric Company. Westinghouse’s AP1000 technology, used in the most recently built U.S. commercial nuclear units, has been adopted worldwide. The government will also provide financing to restart shuttered plants, upgrade existing facilities by 5 gigawatts (GW), and complete stalled projects.
The CEO of Constellation Energy Group (CEG) noted that current permitting processes are severely outdated and unable to meet the 24/7 power demands of data centers. Globally, nuclear power supplies about 10% of electricity, with the U.S. maintaining roughly 100 GW of capacity. To meet climate goals, global nuclear output must triple by 2050.
Although the U.S. once led nuclear development for decades, China has now become the world’s largest nuclear builder, with around 30 reactors under construction. Meanwhile, Russia continues to refine its technology by exporting reactors to countries like India and Iran.
