The *updated* pathway to: Advanced Nuclear Commercial LiftOff

AI and data center load growth is aligning the fundamentals for new nuclear with requirements for 24/7 power, valuing decarbonization, and investment in new generation assets.   

In 2022, utilities were shutting down nuclear reactors; in 2024, they are extending reactor operations to 80 years, planning to uprate capacity, and restarting formerly closed reactors.  

Nuclear provides a differentiated value proposition for a decarbonized grid. Nuclear generates carbon-free electricity, provides firm power that complements renewables, has low land-use requirements, and has lower transmission requirements than distributed or site-constrained generation sources. It also offers high-paying jobs and significant regional economic benefits, can aid in an equitable transition to a net-zero grid, and has a wide variety of use cases that enable grid flexibility and decarbonization beyond the grid, including high temperatures for industrial heat.  

Nuclear has an essential role in the energy transition as a clean firm complement to renewables. Power system decarbonization modeling, regardless of level of renewables deployment, shows the US will need at least ~700–900 GW of additional clean firm capacity to reach net-zero; nuclear is one of the few proven options that could deliver this at scale. Nuclear does not “displace” or “compete with” renewables; decarbonization will require both new nuclear and renewable capacity . Including nuclear and other clean firm resources reduces the cost of decarbonization by reducing the need for variable generation capacity, energy storage, and transmission .  

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