America’s Nuclear Comeback Is Gaining Momentum

Felicity Bradstock

Mon, February 23, 2026 at 5:00 AM GMT+9 5 min read

The United States is doubling down on its plans for expanding nuclear power, as one of the few clean energies that President Trump appears to be supporting. Trump has stated ambitious aims for the rapid expansion of the country’s nuclear power capacity, to be supported by both public and private funding. A wide range of projects, from conventional reactor development to the deployment of small modular reactors (SMR), will support this aim. While it will likely take a decade or more to meaningfully grow the nuclear capacity in the U.S., 2026 is looking like the year when the country’s nuclear revival will really take off.

After years of stagnation, the United States is investing heavily in a nuclear renaissance, with the most nuclear projects planned for any decade since the 1970s. In October, the Trump administration committed to a partnership with Westinghouse Electric Company and its co-owners, Brookfield Asset Management and Camec,o to develop a fleet of new, large-scale nuclear reactors with a total value of at least $80 billion.

The funds will go towards the development of Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurised water reactors, which are capable of generating around 1.1 GW of electricity. This type of reactor is currently being used at the Vogtle Nuclear Plant’s units 3 and 4. Due to previous project delays and the high cost of reactor production, private nuclear companies had been unwilling to commit to investing in new reactors. However, the government financing will support the rollout of several new nuclear reactors, with the hope that Westinghouse has learnt from its previous mistakes and that the development of the new reactors will be more streamlined.

In May last year, President Trump signed four executive orders aimed at accelerating the licensing of new reactors and speeding up development, as well as reforming the country’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Trump also announced the aim of developing 400 GW of nuclear power by 2050 and to have 10 large reactors under construction by 2030. In November, the NRC responded by publishing regulations on how to put Trump’s orders into action, with the planned removal of redundant and duplicative rules.

The SMR industry is also expected to expand development in 2026, after several years of delays due to licensing hold-ups and a lack of access to enriched uranium, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russian energy.

In July, the Japanese government committed to a $550 billion U.S.-Japan trade agreement, which will support nuclear development. The Japanese companies Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toshiba Group, and IHI Corp. have pledged up to $100 billion in investment in the U.S. for the construction of both AP1000s and SMRs.

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Meanwhile, it appears that Bill Gates’ nuclear company, TerraPower, is edging closer to gaining approval for the development of its own fleet of SMRs. The firm hopes to build the Western hemisphere’s first Natrium nuclear reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming, which would use liquid sodium rather than water to cool the reactor, making it safer and more efficient.

In December, the NRC completed its final safety evaluation, meaning that TerraPower is likely to advance SMR development this year, provided its permit is approved. The firm has already begun to prepare the non-nuclear part of the 44-acre site for development and hopes to be producing between 345 MW and 500 MW of clean power on site by 2030.

In recent months, several tech companies, including Facebook, Instagram, and Meta, have signed contracts with nuclear power companies to supply the firms with new nuclear energy by the 2030s. This will help the tech companies to justify the rollout of their large-scale data centres by powering them with new clean energy. It will also help the tech companies to stay on the path to achieving their climate goals. The high levels of financing pledged by the tech majors will help nuclear energy firms to accelerate the development of new conventional reactors and SMRs, pending NRC approval.

However, to support the acceleration of the nuclear renaissance, staff training will be required to develop the nuclear power workforce, both for construction and the running of nuclear operations. In recent years, there has not been enough work in the sector to provide ongoing employment for trained professionals, meaning that many workers from Vogtle have since transitioned to other energy sectors.

In addition, following the stagnation of the nuclear power sector in recent years, it will likely take several years for the U.S. to once again develop its nuclear plant construction skills, drive down costs, and avoid delays. While other countries have been expanding their nuclear capacity, the U.S. has lost its competitive edge in nuclear development. Therefore, while 2026 may be the most promising year for the United States nuclear revival to date, it will likely still take several years to expand the country’s nuclear power capacity to anywhere near Trump’s aims.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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