Go Nukes! White House Plans To Triple American Nuclear Energy Capacity

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As it attempts to get the U.S. away from a reliance on fossil fuels to generate electricity, the Biden Administration has set a goal to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050.

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“The plan sets a goal of 200 gigawatts of new capacity by 2050, more than three times the 2020 capacity,” The Hill reports. To reach that mark, nuclear plants must be built very rapidly, a considerable challenge in that most Americans do not want to live close to nuclear facilities.

Only 18% of the electricity supply in the U.S. comes from nuclear sources, compared to much higher numbers in several countries, including 65% in France. France does not have access to low-cost fossil fuels, so the nuclear fuel build-out was seen as essential to keeping national electricity prices down. France has 56 reactors, while the U.S. has 93, but America’s population is five times France’s.

Soaring demand
As demand for electricity soars, in part due to Bitcoin mining and AI servers, fossil fuel-powered plants will offer an inadequate supply. While green technologies, including solar and wind, have started to come online as electricity producers, it is unlikely they can provide adequate capacity for national needs. One recent study showed that next year, the need for AI electricity will be the same as that of Japan.

Another challenge is the type of nuclear reactors that will drive the expansion capacity. Large installations like those used at Three Mile Island take years to approve, and there is an extensive government regulation process. New Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) may be an alternative, but they are in the early stages of testing.