The will to lead the way

I also delved into the environmental case for nuclear, which has never been stronger. Two years ago, when I was at COP28, world leaders declared that global nuclear energy production must triple to meet our collective decarbonization goals. That signal, combined with AI- and electrification-driven power demands, has created a convergence that this industry has not seen in decades. As I have said plainly, if you want to power AI, if you want ChatGPT and everything that comes with it, there is no other choice. Nuclear is an essential source of firm power.

The regulatory environment is finally catching up to that reality. The ADVANCE Act and the Trump administration’s executive orders are already cutting red tape without jeopardizing safety. There is a meaningful difference between rigorous safety oversight and unnecessary paperwork, and we are finally drawing that line clearly.

Restarting idled assets like Three Mile Island-1 (now Crane), Palisades, and Duane Arnold is the right near-term move. It is faster than new construction and could add a combined 2,227 MWe to the grid by the end of the decade. In the long term, building new small and advanced reactors is essential, but if the United States is serious about not falling behind China, we need to commit real capital. Not $10 billion or $20 billion here and there. We are talking $500 billion to $1 trillion to build the kind of industrial foundation that makes American nuclear leadership durable and competitive.

Tennessee is showing what serious commitment looks like, with $12 billion already committed in Oak Ridge, new enrichment capacity in the future, and a governor who put $100 million behind a coordinated nuclear strategy. These investments were noted in the January issue of Nuclear News, where Tennessee was ranked first in the nation for nuclear development and deployment. We are looking at a bright future for nuclear. The question now is whether the United States has the will to lead it.