U.S. Nuclear Renaissance Enters Steel-in-Ground Phase

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Written by John Egan for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Construction began last month on two U.S. nuclear power projects, signaling the start of the "steel-in-the-ground" phase of the second "Nuclear Renaissance."

Could New Allies Boost Outlook for Next-Gen Nuclear?

Construction began last month on two long-planned nuclear power projects, one in Wyoming and the other in Tennessee, signaling the start of the next phase of the U.S. Nuclear Renaissance 2.0.

Industrial Info Resources data show developers and nuclear plant operators have scheduled approximately 111 capital projects for the nuclear sector with an aggregate value of about $211 billion. The prior attempt to revive new-build nuclear power in the U.S. ended ignominiously, with more than 40 capital projects valued at roughly $250 billion being cancelled or placed on hold. The only announced project to be completed was the addition of two new units added to the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station, delivered years late and at a cost of approximately $35 billion.

But this time, the nuclear power industry has two new and powerful allies--data center hyperscalers and U.S. President Donald Trump--that it lacked at the start of the 21st century, when the term "nuclear renaissance" was popularized. In fact, two other planned small nuclear projects, slated to be built in Texas at an estimated cost of $40 billion, carry the 47th president's name.

Active Movment

Kairos Power, which is backed by Google, wants to build several next-generation nuclear power plants around the world, largely to power planned data centers. TerraPower, which has former Microsoft chief executive officer (CEO) Bill Gates as a backer, has similarly expansive plans for its nuclear generation technology. The company's Natrium project in Wyoming will deliver electricity into the multistate transmission system owned by PacifiCorp.

Meta Platforms, the corporate parent of Facebook and Instagram and a developer of hyperscale data centers, has signed agreements totaling 6,600 megawatts (MW) with Vistra, TerraPower, Oklo and Constellation Energy to boost nuclear generation. The commitments to TerraPower and Oklo are to build new, next-generation nuclear generators while the deals with Vistra and Constellation are to extend the lives of existing nuclear plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has made billions of dollars of loans and grants in recent years to support the development of new reactor designs. The Trump administration has prioritized nuclear power to meet rising demand from data centers to power artificial intelligence applications and replace aging baseload generation, the DOE said.

The DOE is authorized to make up to $2 billion in 50-50 cost-sharing to TerraPower's Natrium project. Separately from these two groundbreakings, the energy agency recently announced a $26.5 billion loan package for Southern Company subsidiaries Alabama Power and Georgia Power that includes licensing and upgrades for about 6,000 MW of nuclear generation. For more on that, see February 26, 2026, article - Power Provider Southern Company Gets Largest-Ever DOE Loan. The DOE funding is through the new Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF), which was established under Trump's omnibus tax and budget law enacted last summer.

Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) like the Kairos project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, generally have an electric generating capacity of about 300 MW per unit or less, the DOE said. The main components of SMRs are modular, factory-assembled parts shipped to the plant construction site for installation, which could reduce construction times. Microreactors, a subset of SMRs, generally have a capacity of 20 MW or less and can operate as part of the electric grid, independently from the electric grid, or as part of a microgrid, the agency recently observed.

Upbeat Remarks at Groundbreakings

In upbeat, future-focused remarks, officials from TerraPower, Kairos Power and the DOE spoke at groundbreaking ceremonies at the Natrium Nuclear Power Plant site in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, respectively, in late April.

"This is the moment our industry has been working toward for a generation" said Chris Levesque, president and CEO of Bill Gates-backed TerraPower. "We're not just breaking new ground on a first-of-a-kind nuclear plant in Wyoming; we're building the next generation of America's energy infrastructure. The Natrium plant will deliver reliable and dispatchable power to the grid and Kemmerer Unit 1 serve as a commercial blueprint to mobilize a fleet of Natrium plants across the country and around the world."

He predicted the 345-MW sodium-cooled Natrium Unit 1 fast reactor will be built in 42 months, which would mean a late-2029 start of commercial operations. It received a construction permit from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission earlier this year.

The facility will also have a molten salt energy storage system that can quickly boost the system's output to 500 MW for increased flexibility and reliability, the NRC said March 9 in issuing the project a construction license. It will need to obtain a separate operating license before it can be operated.

In issuing a construction permit for the Natrium project, the NRC said, "This is the first construction permit ever issued by the NRC for a commercial non-light-water power reactor and represents a historic step toward deployment of a new generation of advanced reactors in the United States."

Across the country, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, officials from Kairos Power, a Google-backed venture, had similarly optimistic words when they broke ground on Hermes Unit 1, a 50-MW SMR demonstration project on April 17.

"For nuclear projects to be successful, we need more than just the right technology. We need to understand every aspect of project delivery. Hermes 2 is where that all comes together," said Mike Laufer, Kairos Power CEO and co-founder. "Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is our hub for nuclear construction and operations. We're training a real workforce to do nuclear construction, learning from the Hermes 1 experience, and translating that knowledge to the Hermes 2 project next door."

By the Numbers

• U.S. utilities and developers plan to make capital outlays of about $211 billion in about 40 domestic nuclear power capital projects.
• TerraPower projected it will cost about $4 billion to build the 345-MW sodium-cooled Natrium power plant in Wyoming.
• Kairos Power estimated it will cost about $303 million to construct a 50-MW demonstration SMR in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
• The U.S. Department of Energy recently made a $26.5 billion package of loans and grants to Southern Company that will support a variety of power projects, including about 6,000 MW of nuclear.

Key Takeaways

• Construction began last month for long-planned nuclear power projects in Wyoming and Tennessee.
• These projects are the first phase of an expected wave of capital investment in U.S. nuclear power, both to build new power plants and to implement in-plant capital projects such as upgrades and uprates.
• The Trump administration has strongly encouraged the construction of nuclear power plants to meet future power needs of data centers that power artificial intelligence (AI).

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