The U.S. recently put forth plans to map out 200 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2050. This estimate has been determined by the U.S. Department of Energy to meet future power demands and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The plan concept was presented at the U.N. climate summit (COP29) will add 35 GW of new capacity by 2035 and achieve a sustained pace of 15 GW per year by 2040.
The plan sets more detailed and defined targets for successful adherence practices:
The new framework is the first of its kind for our nuclear sector and identifies more than 30 actions the U.S. government can take, along with industry and power customers, to help expand our domestic capacity.
The targets also align with last year’s historic pledges at COP to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 and to secure a nuclear fuel supply chain that’s free from Russian influence.
Nuclear energy in the U.S., is the biggest source of clean power and eliminates more than 470 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. The reduced emissions is equal to removing 100 million cars from the road.
The domestic nuclear capacity will require building new reactors such as large-scale light-water reactors, similar to the AP1000 units recently built in Georgia, along with new small modular and microreactor designs could all be built by the early 2030s. Even retired reactors could brought back to life. A surge in new employment positions could employ thousands of Americans.
Large-scale light water reactors could host up to 60 GW of new capacity and could increase to 95 GW by hosting small modular reactors. An additional 128 to 174 GW of new capacity could also be utilized near U.S. coal plants possibly using small modular reactors. Two retired reactors in Michigan and Pennsylvania are scheduled to be recommissioned before the end of the decade to boost nuclear productivity:
We’re working to demonstrate new technologies and lower the risk of developing several advanced reactor designs to bring a diverse suite of clean power systems to the marketplace.
We’re bringing key stakeholders to the table to find the best ‘match’ for these systems to ensure their deployment.
And, we’re securing the availability of high-assay low-enriched uranium to make sure these technologies are not dependent on foreign entities like Russia when they start up their systems for the first time.
