U.S. unveils road map to triple nuclear capacity by 2050

As the United Nations' COP29 climate summit kicked off this week, President Biden's administration laid out plans to add 200 GW of nuclear power in the next 25 years through a combination of new reactor deployment, plant restarts, and upgrades at existing sites.

The added nuclear would triple the nation's current capacity, which stands at around 100 GW.

The new U.S. road map-Safely and Responsibly Expanding U.S. Nuclear Energy: Deployment Targets and a Framework for Action-calls the deployment goals "ambitious but achievable," including a short-term plan to jumpstart the domestic industry, adding 35 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2035.

The added nuclear would triple the nation's current capacity, which stands at around 100 GW.

The new U.S. road map-Safely and Responsibly Expanding U.S. Nuclear Energy: Deployment Targets and a Framework for Action-calls the deployment goals "ambitious but achievable," including a short-term plan to jumpstart the domestic industry, adding 35 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2035.

"Over the last four years the United States has really established the industrial capacity and the muscle memory across the economy to carry out this plan," said Ali Zaidi, the White House national climate adviser told Bloomberg.

At a glance: The 29th annual international gathering-the Conference of Parties-is the decision-making body of the UN's convention on climate change, and is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, through November 22.

Leaders worldwide face soaring demands for energy due to the electrification of numerous industries and a number of power-hungry data centers coming on line to fuel the growing need for artificial intelligence. And most are trying to balance the need to reduce carbon emissions before climate change damage becomes irreversible.

Too much, too soon? The near-term 2035 deployment target of 35 GW reflects a "sense of urgency needed to make a significant expansion of domestic nuclear energy policy," the report states.

The goal of adding another 15 GW per year, beginning by 2040, would put the nation on pace to meet the 200 GW goal by 2050.

Even though nuclear power growth has been largely stagnant in the United States for decades, Biden's road map points to a decades-old track record for nuclear growth of this size.

"Though these nuclear deployment targets are ambitious relative to the stagnation of new builds over the last 30 years, they are not without precedent based on achieved capacity additions in the 1970s and 1980s," according to the report. "During those two decades, the U.S. nuclear industry completed construction of about 100 GW, with a peak at over 10 GW added in 1974. Through technology innovation, greater design standardization, modularization, and repetition, we have the potential to safely and responsibly deploy new nuclear power faster and more efficiently."

Building on momentum: Last year's COP28 meeting produced a pledge signed by 25 nations to triple worldwide nuclear capacity by 2050. And while the action does not require endorser countries to expand their nuclear output at the same pace, the U.S. wants to do its part to "support clean economic growth at home as well as uphold international pledges through supporting likeminded countries seeking to deploy peaceful nuclear energy, building on existing U.S. leadership in nuclear energy science and technology."

This past summer, the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act passed in Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. The legislation aims to advance timely and efficient reactor licensing to accelerate safe and responsible nuclear energy deployment consistent with decarbonization, economic, and national security goals.

Targets in the road map: The 36-page framework outlines more than 30 steps the U.S. should take to rebuild its capacity and to restore the nation's status as a developer of nuclear technology.

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