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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A second nuclear renaissance is well under way in the U.S. Many of the utilities developing new-build, next-generation nuclear generation are the same ones that had costly flameouts in the original nuclear renaissance in the early years of this century, suggesting they are forgetting the adage, "once bitten, twice shy."
And states are racing to support this trend to build next-generation nuclear, typically small modular reactors (SMRs), by enacting laws containing financial incentives designed to attract developers. A recent news report from the Associated Press said, "last year, 25 states passed legislation to support advanced nuclear energy, and this year lawmakers have introduced more than 200 bills supportive of nuclear energy." The report cited information from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).
For more on how states and companies are moving to secure a piece of the second nuclear renaissance, see February 25, 2025, article - U.S. Companies, Legislators Pave Way for Small Modular Reactors.
The first nuclear renaissance was driven by various factors, including volatile natural gas prices and tightening environmental restrictions on burning coal to generate electricity. Ultimately, of the 18 new-build units that were announced, only two--at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station--were completed and are operating today. Those two units faced billions of dollars of cost overruns and were years late in getting completed.
The total investment value (TIV) of cancelled new-build nuclear generation projects in the first nuclear renaissance totaled about $83 billion, according to Industrial Info Resources' Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform. Not all of that planned investment was actually spent, but the actual outlays for those never-built plants reached the billions, possibly tens of billions.
Many of those cancelled nuclear projects planned to use the AP1000 reactor design from Westinghouse Electric Company (Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania). Westinghouse declared bankruptcy in 2017, bled dry by cost overruns in its nuclear construction business. For more on that, see April 25, 2017, article - Westinghouse Chapter 11 Filing Roils Labor Markets in Georgia and Beyond.
Utilities that cancelled their new-build nuclear generation projects in the first nuclear renaissance include:
Other companies, including NextEra and Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) (Baltimore, Maryland), are seeking to restart mothballed nuclear generators built in the 20th century. For more on NextEra's interest in restarting its Duane Arnold nuclear plant, see January 28, 2025, article - NextEra Develops Plans for Gas-Fired, Nuclear Power. For more on the Constellation restart effort, see February 25, 2025, article - Constellation Advances Proposed Three Mile Island Restart.
Proposed U.S. new-build advanced nuclear generation projects have a total investment value (TIV) of about $73.25 billion, according to data tracked by Industrial Info. That sum excludes planned outlays for extended power uprates (EPU), in-plant capital projects such as turbine replacements, construction of nuclear waste cask storage capacity, decommissioning and demolition (D&D) and restarting mothballed reactors.
In addition to utilities, a variety of non-utility firms, including technology giants Amazon.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMZN) (Seattle, Washington) and Alphabet Incorporated (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (Mountain View, California), parent of Google, as well as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, have plans to either build next-generation nuclear or bring mothballed plants back to life.
On March 31, materials company Dow Incorporated (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan) and developer X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a permit to build a 400-megawatt SMR at a Dow-owned site in Seadrift, Texas. The project is called the Long Mott Generating Station.
President Donald Trump, like a previous Republican president, George Bush, supports nuclear energy. Grant funds for development of next-generation are available through the Department of Energy (DOE). It is possible, when the smoke clears from Trump's campaign to dramatically downsize the federal government, that those funds could be augmented. But numerous Trump executive actions to slash the size of the U.S. government are embroiled in legal challenges.
The main driver for the second nuclear renaissance is the projected soaring electric demand stemming from data centers and artificial intelligence (AI), coupled with an unwillingness to build or expand coal-fired power plants. For more on this, see February 19, 2025, article - Three Arizona Utilities Investigate New-Build Nuclear. Data centers and AI require extremely high power reliability and therefore seek dispatchable generation, such as nuclear or gas. Renewable energy plus storage could also be an option when batteries become capable of discharging electricity for 12 hours or more.
Tennessee, Utah and Texas are states that have enacted financial aid packages to bring new-build nuclear generation to their states, according to the AP report. Last month, lawmakers in Indiana passed legislation to let utilities more quickly seek reimbursement for the cost to build a modular reactor, undoing a decades-old prohibition on that practice that was enacted to protect customers from cost overruns or abandoned projects. The AP also reported that legislatures in Arizona and Michigan are considering legislation to attract the next generation of nuclear generation.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
And states are racing to support this trend to build next-generation nuclear, typically small modular reactors (SMRs), by enacting laws containing financial incentives designed to attract developers. A recent news report from the Associated Press said, "last year, 25 states passed legislation to support advanced nuclear energy, and this year lawmakers have introduced more than 200 bills supportive of nuclear energy." The report cited information from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).
For more on how states and companies are moving to secure a piece of the second nuclear renaissance, see February 25, 2025, article - U.S. Companies, Legislators Pave Way for Small Modular Reactors.
The first nuclear renaissance was driven by various factors, including volatile natural gas prices and tightening environmental restrictions on burning coal to generate electricity. Ultimately, of the 18 new-build units that were announced, only two--at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station--were completed and are operating today. Those two units faced billions of dollars of cost overruns and were years late in getting completed.
The total investment value (TIV) of cancelled new-build nuclear generation projects in the first nuclear renaissance totaled about $83 billion, according to Industrial Info Resources' Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform. Not all of that planned investment was actually spent, but the actual outlays for those never-built plants reached the billions, possibly tens of billions.
Many of those cancelled nuclear projects planned to use the AP1000 reactor design from Westinghouse Electric Company (Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania). Westinghouse declared bankruptcy in 2017, bled dry by cost overruns in its nuclear construction business. For more on that, see April 25, 2017, article - Westinghouse Chapter 11 Filing Roils Labor Markets in Georgia and Beyond.
Utilities that cancelled their new-build nuclear generation projects in the first nuclear renaissance include:
- Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee)
- Dominion Energy Incorporated (NYSE:D) (Richmond, Virginia)
- Arizona Public Service Company (APS) (Phoenix, Arizona), a unit of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW) (Phoenix)
- Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina)
- Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) (Juno Beach, Florida), a unit of NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach) and
- MidAmerican Energy Company (Des Moines, Iowa), a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated (NYSE:BRK.A) (Omaha, Nebraska)
Other companies, including NextEra and Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) (Baltimore, Maryland), are seeking to restart mothballed nuclear generators built in the 20th century. For more on NextEra's interest in restarting its Duane Arnold nuclear plant, see January 28, 2025, article - NextEra Develops Plans for Gas-Fired, Nuclear Power. For more on the Constellation restart effort, see February 25, 2025, article - Constellation Advances Proposed Three Mile Island Restart.
Proposed U.S. new-build advanced nuclear generation projects have a total investment value (TIV) of about $73.25 billion, according to data tracked by Industrial Info. That sum excludes planned outlays for extended power uprates (EPU), in-plant capital projects such as turbine replacements, construction of nuclear waste cask storage capacity, decommissioning and demolition (D&D) and restarting mothballed reactors.
In addition to utilities, a variety of non-utility firms, including technology giants Amazon.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMZN) (Seattle, Washington) and Alphabet Incorporated (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (Mountain View, California), parent of Google, as well as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, have plans to either build next-generation nuclear or bring mothballed plants back to life.
On March 31, materials company Dow Incorporated (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan) and developer X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a permit to build a 400-megawatt SMR at a Dow-owned site in Seadrift, Texas. The project is called the Long Mott Generating Station.
President Donald Trump, like a previous Republican president, George Bush, supports nuclear energy. Grant funds for development of next-generation are available through the Department of Energy (DOE). It is possible, when the smoke clears from Trump's campaign to dramatically downsize the federal government, that those funds could be augmented. But numerous Trump executive actions to slash the size of the U.S. government are embroiled in legal challenges.
The main driver for the second nuclear renaissance is the projected soaring electric demand stemming from data centers and artificial intelligence (AI), coupled with an unwillingness to build or expand coal-fired power plants. For more on this, see February 19, 2025, article - Three Arizona Utilities Investigate New-Build Nuclear. Data centers and AI require extremely high power reliability and therefore seek dispatchable generation, such as nuclear or gas. Renewable energy plus storage could also be an option when batteries become capable of discharging electricity for 12 hours or more.
Tennessee, Utah and Texas are states that have enacted financial aid packages to bring new-build nuclear generation to their states, according to the AP report. Last month, lawmakers in Indiana passed legislation to let utilities more quickly seek reimbursement for the cost to build a modular reactor, undoing a decades-old prohibition on that practice that was enacted to protect customers from cost overruns or abandoned projects. The AP also reported that legislatures in Arizona and Michigan are considering legislation to attract the next generation of nuclear generation.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
