President Trump on Friday signed several executive orders to help clear the way for more nuclear power development and, in the words of one of his top officials, “usher in the American nuclear renaissance.”
“It’s a hot industry, it’s a brilliant industry,” Mr. Trump said of nuclear power before signing the executive orders.
The White House says the orders the president approved Friday will help ensure American energy dominance and provide safe, reliable and affordable energy to the country. The four nuclear energy executive actions the president signed Friday will speed up nuclear reactor testing at Department of Energy laboratories and expedite applications, officials said. The orders will also clear a path for the Department of Energy and the Pentagon to build nuclear reactors on federally owned land, overhaul the Nuclear Reactor Commission and encourage uranium mining and enrichment.
“The first tranche of EOs relates to nuclear energy where President Trump is taking truly historic action to usher in the American nuclear renaissance,” said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a call with reporters Friday morning.
Nuclear energy accounts for roughly one-fifth of the nation’s power.
On Friday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the U.S. has “choked” the nuclear industry “through overregulation.” And nuclear energy is key to winning the AI race with China, Burgum said.
“Energy security is national security,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, adding that troops need reliable energy.
Kratsios said the U.S. has been the world leader in nuclear innovation in the past, but that in the last three decades, has only started and built two reactors. As of August 2023, the U.S. had 93 operating commercial nuclear reactors at 54 nuclear power plants across 28 states, with the average age of those reactors about 42 years old, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
A senior White House official also said the administration is hoping to test and deploy nuclear reactors before the president’s term concludes.
It’s not yet clear what the “substantial reorganization” of the National Reactor Commission would look like.
“Just like any substantial reorganization, there will be turnover and changes in roles,” one senior White House official said. “Total reduction in staff is undetermined at this point, but the executive orders do call for a substantial reorganization of the organization.”
The president was asked to address any concerns that speeding up the permitting process could affect safety.
“We’re going to get it very fast and we’re going to get it very safe,” Mr. Trump said.
