Insider Brief:
- U.S. President Donald Trump signed four executive orders on May 23 to increase domestic production of nuclear power by 400% over 25 years.
- The order requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve or deny applications for industry in an 18-month window.
- It also enables the Defense Production Act to ensure the U.S. has enough uranium to power these reactors.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed on May 23 four executive orders designed to increase domestic production of nuclear power fourfold over the next 25 years, the Associated Press reported.
The orders will allow the U.S. energy secretary to approve some advanced reactor designs and projects, AP said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which previously had this power, will no longer be in charge of approving nuclear projects.
The orders require the NRC to either approve or deny industry nuclear applications within an 18-month window, and creates a pilot program to put three experimental reactors online by July 4, 2026. The orders also invoke the Defense Production Act to ensure the U.S. has enough uranium for the sector.
“Today’s executive orders allow for reactor design testing at DOE labs, clear the way for construction on federal lands to protect national and economic security, and remove regulatory barriers by requiring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue timely licensing decisions,” the White House said in a statement.
The U.S. is expected to increase its energy demand by 30 to 40%, a recent report from American Clean Power estimated.
“We’ve got enough electricity to win the AI arms race with China,” AP quoted Interior Secretary Doug Begum as saying. “What we do in the next five years related to electricity is going to determine the next 50 years”.
However, the U.S. has a long way to go before being able to expand its nuclear fleet so quickly, given that the country lacks next-generation reactors and has only built two nuclear reactors from scratch in the last 50 years, AP reported.
