The U.S. is unquestionably in the midst of an unprecedented period of electricity demand growth that must be met to power our economy and our national security. Not surprisingly, the demand for the reliable, clean energy that nuclear provides has led to a significant near-term need to increase the output of our operating fleet and deploy new nuclear power plants.
In late 2024, NEI surveyed our utility members on their plans to expand their nuclear generation with eye-popping results:
- Three-quarters of the industry is interested in increasing the output of existing reactors, with more than 3,000 MWe of new output already planned.
- Roughly half of plants are interested in extending the time between plant refueling shutdowns, enabling the equivalent of roughly 600 MWe of new generation per year.
- Efforts are underway to restart two plants that had permanently ceased operations and evaluate whether to restart a third, potentially adding the equivalent of more than 2,200 MWe of new output.
- More than a dozen permits are expected to be initiated for new reactors by the end of the decade, with members anticipating needing over 100,000 MWe of new nuclear power by the 2050s.
- Virtually every operating plant will seek approval to operate for at least 80 years.
While all of this paints an optimistic picture for the increase in the production of clean and reliable nuclear power, the road to achieve these runs right through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), since each action requires approval by the NRC. The survey showed that, compared to the past decade, the expected number of license applications that will be submitted to the NRC will double.
Keep in mind that this survey was limited to utilities that currently operate nuclear power plants and does not account for the surging interest from other utilities and customers across the country that will generate an additional wave of work for the NRC. This new, near-term demand stems from industrial customers, such as oil and gas, interested in reliable process heat and electricity, data centers, artificial intelligence hyperscalers, mining, and marine shipping.
NRC Modernization in the Spotlight
The NRC has a well-earned global reputation as the gold standard of independent safety regulators, but NRC’s legacy requirements and processes for reviewing and approving applications are often ponderous and in need of modernization. While the NRC has made some recent progress on specific projects, significant modernization of the agency MUST be a top priority for the nation. Nuclear energy is the most reliable, resilient and scalable source of energy available today. The processes of the past will impede the pursuit of U.S. energy dominance that is so important both domestically and geopolitically.
Timelines for NRC approvals have typically been on the scale of multiple years, if not a decade. This pace will not support the needs of the U.S. economy, nor our national security interests. We do not have decades to address this.
The demand for reliable, clean nuclear power is global. China and Russia are accelerating their new nuclear programs for their own use and for export to other countries. China continues to bring 10 new plants online each year and is on track to surpass the U.S. as largest nuclear generator in the world by the end of this decade. Russia is currently building 10 plants in other countries and plans to aggressively grow their own fleet and export their nuclear technology.
We have confidence that, with sustained focus and strong leadership, the NRC can become the regulator the nation needs but now is the time for change. Last year, Congress passed the “Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act” on a strongly bipartisan basis directing the NRC to more efficiently carry out its regulatory mission. This timely legislation makes the expectation clear and directs the NRC to provide a plethora of reports identifying actions being taken to increase efficiency. The ADVANCE Act is already having an impact. However, given the significance of the results from this survey and the geopolitical stakes at play, it is critical that the Administration and the 119th Congress engage with the NRC to ensure that the purpose of this important law be achieved at a pace that does not unnecessarily constrain U.S. nuclear technology here in the U.S. and internationally.
