Kairos Power and TerraPower each began building advanced nuclear reactors in April, marking the first time two such projects launched within days of each other. Nuclear Energy Institute CEO Maria Korsnick told a Washington policy forum on May 12 that the industry now has eight reactors under construction across North America and 90 more in development. “The question before us is not whether we can build,” she said. “It’s whether we have what it takes to build at scale.”
The groundbreakings at the Hermes 2 site in Tennessee and the Natrium facility in Wyoming signal a pace Korsnick called recently. Power Magazine reported that the two events, separated by just days, gave concrete form to an industry narrative that has been building since President Trump signed four nuclear-focused executive orders last year. Those orders directed federal agencies to accelerate plant restarts, modernize the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, expand the nuclear workforce, strengthen the domestic fuel cycle, and promote US technology exports.
The administration’s stated goal: quadruple commercial nuclear capacity by 2050. Westinghouse is now working with the federal government on a target of 10 large reactors under construction in the US by 2030. The Department of Energy is reviewing a financing proposal worth “billions of dollars” for long-lead equipment that utilities would need to deploy AP1000 reactors, Korsnick said.
Ten companies have been selected for the DOE’s reactor pilot program. Four developers are in the follow-on Nuclear Launch Pad initiative. State governments are moving in parallel.
Indiana enacted what Korsnick described as the country’s first 20% nuclear manufacturing tax credit. Utah is advancing Operation Gigawatt, its plan to double in-state power production. New York committed to 5 GW of new nuclear.
Illinois, already home to the nation’s largest reactor fleet, plans to expand it. “So far this year, 13 governors have championed nuclear in their state-of-the-state addresses, more than ever before,” Korsnick said, according to Power Magazine. After Texas established a nuclear coordination office, eight other states introduced similar legislation. All six New England governors signed a regional commitment to explore advanced nuclear.
The military is building its own programs. The Navy is exploring onshore small modular reactors. The Army is developing a microreactor program.
The Air Force selected Radiant, Westinghouse, and Antares to support its initiative. BWX Technologies is building a prototype mobile microreactor under Project Pele. Regulatory reform is the binding constraint, Korsnick argued. “If quadrupling nuclear capacity is our moon shot, then regulatory change is our launch pad,” she said.
The NRC completed its review of TerraPower’s Natrium reactor in 18 months—nine months ahead of schedule—and issued the first construction permit for a non-light-water reactor in half a century. The agency is now routinely beating its own review timelines for advanced designs, including Kairos’s Hermes 2 and X-energy’s Xe-100. Last month, the NRC completed what Korsnick called the fastest license renewal in its history, for Duke Energy’s Robinson Unit 2.
New frameworks issued this spring will accommodate flexibility in advanced reactor design licensing and high-volume deployment. “We cannot address 21st century changes with a 20th century rule book,” she said. Capital is flooding in. On the federal side, Korsnick cited $80 billion pledged for Westinghouse AP1000 construction, $2.7 billion awarded to Orano, General Matter, and Centrus for domestic uranium enrichment, and $2.5 billion supporting Constellation’s restart of the Crane Clean Energy Center and Holtec’s restart of Palisades.
Texas opened a $350 million nuclear grant fund. Tennessee secured more than $90 million on top of $60 million already committed. Wyoming announced $100 million for a new fuel fabrication facility.
Two pieces of pending legislation drew direct endorsements. The bipartisan Accelerating Reliable Capacity Act would help “early movers build order books for new plants and bring down construction costs in the process,” Korsnick said. The Nuclear Rate Stabilization Act, introduced in April by Reps.
Pat Harrigan and Jimmy Panetta, would strengthen existing nuclear tax credits. Duke Energy, which operates 11 units serving 8 million homes, is already passing $600 million in credit value directly to ratepayers. Private capital has moved faster than expected.
Morgan Stanley now projects $2.2 trillion in nuclear investment through 2050—a 47% increase from the bank’s projection last year. Nuclear startups raised nearly $3 billion in 2025. X-energy went public last month, raising more than $1 billion in what Korsnick called “the largest nuclear public offering on record.” On May 4, Brookfield and The Nuclear Company announced a joint venture to execute Westinghouse designs, including the V.C.
Summer project in South Carolina. Big tech is placing large bets. “Big tech now has 40 GW of nuclear power in the pipeline,” Korsnick reported. Meta signed a deal with TerraPower, Oklo, and Vistra.
Google reached an agreement with NextEra to restart the Duane Arnold plant in Iowa and is collaborating with Kairos and the Tennessee Valley Authority on data center power. Amazon has invested more than $1 billion in nuclear projects. Fuel-cycle capital is following.
Urenco attracted $5 billion in private capital for its national enrichment plan. Global Laser Enrichment announced $1.8 billion for a facility in Paducah, Kentucky. LIS Technologies announced $1.4 billion for a facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
International alignment is strengthening. Japan committed $40 billion to SMR construction in Tennessee and Alabama with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy. Amazon and X-energy are working with South Korean companies on a $50 billion supply chain expansion.
GVH is building four BWRX-300 reactors in Ontario. Poland secured financing for its first reactor with Westinghouse and Bechtel. The UK set a framework for advanced nuclear deployment.
Canada, Hungary, and Bulgaria are expanding capacity. Taiwan and Italy are moving to restart nuclear programs they previously wound down. The Philippines, El Salvador, and Saudi Arabia are positioning to enter the sector.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently described Europe’s earlier turn from nuclear as a “strategic mistake,” Korsnick noted. After the World Bank ended its ban on financing nuclear projects, its president, Ajay Banga, called the move “long overdue.”
The workforce question remains the hardest piece. The industry needs to triple its workforce by 2050. It has been three years since Vogtle Units 3 and 4 came online, built with more than 8,000 union workers.
North America’s Building Trades Unions are seeing their largest increase in apprenticeship programs since the 1950s. But Korsnick did not put a detailed figure on the gap that remains. The current build runs on three tracks.
First, restart: Holtec’s Palisades plant in Michigan is scheduled to come online later this year. Duane Arnold in Iowa could follow in 2029. Second, retrofit: Limerick Units 1 and 2 in Pennsylvania have been approved to digitize their control systems—a first-of-a-kind project.
Third, reimagining construction: the Genesis Mission is examining how AI can accelerate advanced nuclear design. Microsoft and Nvidia recently announced a partnership to create generative AI tools for nuclear permitting. The existing fleet—94 licensed reactors generating roughly 20% of US electricity, with 95% planning to operate for 80 years or longer—is the baseline.
Units now under construction may still be operating in 2100. “These new units will outlast all of us,” Korsnick said. “Nuclear energy is generational energy, and every time we build, we’re building the future.”
Why It Matters: The US nuclear buildout directly affects household electricity costs, grid reliability as data center demand surges, and the country’s ability to meet climate targets without sacrificing baseload power. A tripling of the nuclear workforce by 2050 means tens of thousands of new skilled-trade jobs. The policy says one thing—quadruple capacity.
The reality says another: regulatory timelines, workforce shortages, and construction costs will determine whether the 90 reactors in development actually get built. - Eight reactors are under construction in North America with 90 more in development; the industry targets quadrupling US nuclear capacity by 2050. - The NRC has cut review timelines by more than 50% and issued the first non-light-water reactor construction permit in 50 years. What comes next: Holtec’s Palisades plant is scheduled to restart later this year—the first reactor the NRC has ever approved to bring back from closed status. Constellation’s Crane Clean Energy Center follows in 2027.
Congress will decide the fate of the ARC Act and the Nuclear Rate Stabilization Act, both of which Korsnick urged lawmakers to pass. The DOE’s review of the multibillion-dollar AP1000 financing proposal will signal whether the administration’s 10-reactor-by-2030 target is achievable or aspirational.
Key Takeaways
— Eight reactors are under construction in North America with 90 more in development; the industry targets quadrupling US nuclear capacity by 2050.
— The NRC has cut review timelines by more than 50% and issued the first non-light-water reactor construction permit in 50 years.
— Morgan Stanley projects $2.2 trillion in nuclear investment through 2050, a 47% increase from last year's estimate.
— The industry must triple its workforce by 2050, with union apprenticeship programs at their highest level since the 1950s.
Source: Power Magazine
