### US Eyes Major Nuclear Energy Expansion Amid Political Uncertainty

The Biden administration recently unveiled an ambitious roadmap to significantly increase the United States' reliance on nuclear power. While this comprehensive plan aims to provide the nation with 200 gigawatts of new nuclear energy capacity by 2050, the impending return of Donald Trump to the White House casts doubt on its future implementation. Nevertheless, the nuclear sector enjoys considerable bipartisan backing, reinforced by support from major tech companies.

Presently, nuclear energy constitutes nearly 20 percent of the US's electricity supply, mirroring the contribution from renewable sources such as wind and solar. Fossil fuels dominate the energy landscape with a 60 percent share. Notably, nearly half of the country's carbon pollution-free power emanates from nuclear reactors. While the environmental concerns regarding uranium mining and radioactive waste persist, nuclear energy's capability to generate electricity without greenhouse gas emissions has garnered support from certain environmental groups and the Biden administration.

The roadmap includes specific interim goals: 35 gigawatts of new capacity by 2035 and an annual addition of 15 gigawatts from 2040 onwards. Achieving these targets will be challenging, given the aging state of the current nuclear infrastructure. Most US nuclear plants were built in the 1970s and '80s, with an average reactor age of 42 years. The industry also struggles with past accidents and competition from more cost-effective power sources like natural gas.

An example of these challenges is the Vogtle Unit 3 reactor in Georgia, the first newly built US nuclear reactor in decades, which went online in 2023 after being seven years behind schedule and $17 billion over budget. Despite these setbacks, construction continues; another reactor at the same site began operations in April.

High construction costs and logistical difficulties have stymied the nuclear industry's growth. To address these issues, the industry is pivoting towards small modular reactors (SMRs), which promise to be cheaper and easier to build due to their smaller size.

The Biden administration's roadmap emphasizes building both large and small new reactors, renewing licenses to extend the lifespan of older reactors, and potentially restarting retired ones. Big tech companies have increasingly engaged with the nuclear industry. For instance, Microsoft signed an agreement in September to help restart a reactor at Three Mile Island, while Amazon Web Services acquired a nuclear-powered data center campus in Pennsylvania in March. Moreover, Amazon inked deals to develop SMRs for future use in Washington state and Virginia. Google has also announced plans to purchase power from SMRs expected to be operational between 2030 and 2035.

While Trump's previous administration was less hostile to nuclear energy, his return brings uncertainty. He has indicated support for nuclear energy through his Agenda 47 plan, which includes modernizing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and investing in innovative SMRs. However, in an October interview with Joe Rogan, Trump expressed concerns about nuclear energy, referring to it as a "little danger," and downplayed climate change risks by saying, "The biggest problem in the world today is not global warming, it's nuclear warming."

Whether the vision of a nuclear energy renaissance in the US will be realized remains uncertain, hinging on both political will and technological advancements.