Nuclear

Picking up steam: US targets tripling nuclear capacity by 2050

DOE research suggests that a majority of U.S. nuclear power plants could host up to 60 GW of new capacity by building large-scale light water reactors like AP1000s.
Picking up steam: US targets tripling nuclear capacity by 2050
Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant (Credit: DOE)

For years the U.S. nuclear industry languished from compounding issues like economics, public sentiment, and shrinking skilled labor, but momentum continues to point to a comeback.

The U.S. just set new deployment targets at the U.N. climate summit (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan: Add 35 GW of new capacity by 2035 and achieve a sustained pace of 15 GW per year by 2040. The new framework is the first of its kind for the nuclear sector and identifies more than 30 actions the U.S. government can take, along with industry and power customers, to help expand domestic capacity. The targets are also meant to align with last year’s pledges at COP to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 and to secure a nuclear fuel supply chain free from Russian influence.  

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) argues that the timely expansion of U.S. domestic nuclear capacity will require buildout of new reactors at a pace not seen since the 1970s — relying heavily on design standardization, new manufacturing techniques and the lessons learned from past deployments. Large-scale light-water reactors, along with new small modular- and microreactor designs could all be built in the early 2030s to help meet the unique heat and power needs of different power customers and the military, DOE added.

Preliminary research from the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy shows that a majority of the U.S.’ nuclear power plants could host up to 60 GW of new capacity by building large-scale light water reactors like the AP1000s. That number could grow to 95 GW if including sites that can potentially host small modular reactors. Many of these sites were originally designed for additional units that were never built, and utilities could take advantage of previous engagements with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to expedite the licensing process, DOE said.

The study also found an additional 128 to 174 GW of new capacity could also be built near U.S. coal plants depending on the reactor type, which includes small modular reactors. These smaller reactors would require less up-front capital investment to build.

With the Biden administration set to vacate the White House early next year, the U.S. clean energy industry is bracing for likely change. However, President-elect Trump has voiced his support for nuclear energy on the campaign trail, Bloomberg notes, which gives some hope that this new goal will survive the handover.

Nuclear power has been getting its time in the spotlight in recent months. Late in September, DOE announced the closing of a loan guarantee of up to $1.52 billion to Holtec to help finance the restoration and resumption of service of the 800 MW Palisades nuclear generating station in Covert Township, Michigan.

Palisades, which ceased operations in May 2022, will be brought back online and upgraded to produce power until at least 2051, subject to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing approvals. The NRC also issued new guidance meant to ensure the restart is performed safely. Once complete, this project will be the first recommissioning of a retired nuclear power plant in U.S. history.

Additionally, fourteen of the world’s largest financial institutions will pledge increased support for nuclear power, according to a recent Financial Times report. Institutions including Bank of America, Barclays, PNP Paribas, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are expected to support the COP28 goal of tripling global nuclear power capacity by 2050. Driven by decarbonization goals and projected load growth from an artificial intelligence (AI) boom, support for nuclear power has especially increased the last couple of years.

Technology giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon are significantly driving electricity demand, primarily through extensive and rapidly expanding data center operations. In doing so, they’ve expressed interest in nuclear as a partner.