The US Administration targets 400 GW of nuclear capacity by 2050

The US Administration has published two Executive Orders to expedite and promote the production and operation of nuclear energy. The country aims to become a global leader in nuclear energy, to support the continued operation of the current nuclear fleet and the reactivation of shuttered or partially completed nuclear plants, to deploy emerging technologies such as Generation III+ and IV reactors, modular reactors, and microreactors, including by lowering regulatory and cost barriers to entry. Overall, In the long term, the United States aims to expand its nuclear capacity from about 100 GW in 2024 to 400 GW by 2050 through the pursue of policies to maximise the value of nuclear fuel and expand the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain.

To do so, the US Department of Energy is set to prioritise the facilitation of 5 GW of power uprates to existing nuclear reactors and the construction on 10 new large reactors by 2030. The United States also plans to direct financial resources through federal loans and loan guarantees to support the restart, completion, uprate, and construction of nuclear plants. Moreover, the government plans to pursue policies to maximise the value of nuclear fuel and expand the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain, including by boosting domestic production of uranium and thorium

Under new executive order, the United States will also reform the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which will be restructured and whose mission shall now include facilitating nuclear power while ensuring reactor safety. The NRC will have to undertake a review and wholesale revision of its regulations and guidance documents and will have to fix shorter deadlines for its evaluation and approval of licenses, license amendments, license renewals, certificates of compliance, power uprates, and license transfers.