MenuPresident Donald Trump signed four executive orders on May 23rd to enhance America’s nuclear energy production capabilities. U.S. demand for electricity is projected to grow by almost 16% by 2029 after having been nearly flat for over two decades. A combination of factors is driving the need for more power, led by a jump in commercial construction, including data centers for AI-driven computing and manufacturing plants. Nuclear energy can offer a zero-emission source of stable baseload electricity even when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, but as the World Nuclear Association points out, almost all U.S. nuclear generating capacity comes from reactors built between 1967 and 1990. Nuclear sector reform in the US has been overdue since President Jimmy Carter and his successors hit the brakes on development and piled on too many regulations.
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