Biden White House blueprint calls for tripling US nuclear capacity by 2050

The Biden administration has announced a plan to deploy 15 GW of new nuclear power per year by 2040, with the ultimate goal of tripling the current fleet by 2050.

The White House plan released Nov. 12 calls for 35 GW of new nuclear capacity to be operating or under construction by 2035, with 200 GW deployed by 2050. The goal of adding 15 GW per year of capacity would include both domestic and US exports of nuclear plants, the administration said.

But it is not clear whether President-elect Donald Trump will abide by the nuclear blueprint, although he is supportive of growing the industry, albeit alongside fossil power plants, to support the expected rise in power demand over the next decade.

Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, said Nov. 13 that "nuclear energy is one of the few issues that receives bipartisan support across the country, and we look forward to continuing to advance strategies that extend the lives of existing nuclear reactors, usher in a new era of advanced technologies, and support a global marketplace for US exports."

The Biden blueprint called for ramping up deployments of all types of reactors — conventional large plants as well as small modular reactors and microreactors — in addition to restarting reactors that have retired for economic reasons and upgrading existing reactors to continue generating beyond their planned retirement dates and at higher capacity levels.

The blueprint would also include a role for more advanced Generation III+ water-cooled reactors and Generation IV designs, suggesting the potential for a future nuclear fuel recycling program. These reactors are being developed as next-generation generators with safety and economic benefits, although China is the only country to build and operate a commercial Generation IV reactor.

The reactors would offer increased fuel efficiency and permit longer operation without shutting for refueling, the framework said.

"A timely expansion of domestic nuclear power will require a diverse set of technologies to meet the unique needs of power customers, including grid-based power, behind-the-meter resilient power, industrial heat, and remote and transportable power," the administration said in the framework document.

The framework also called on large industrial power customers such as Microsoft and Amazon to consider investing in new nuclear projects.

Achieving this ambitious target will also require power customers with large power needs and carbon-free commitments "to work creatively with utilities to help share project risks commensurate with resulting benefits of successful deployment," it added.

The Biden administration issued the plan after the opening of the UN COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. The administration said the ambitious nuclear power plan is required to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets that the US agreed to under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

White House climate adviser John Podesta said Nov. 11 in Baku that new power generation is going to be clean, and that the "desire to build out next generation nuclear is still there." He noted that the big technology and data center firms are committed to powering the future with clean energy that includes "safe, reliable nuclear energy."

Republican support for nuclear

Trump may consider new targets under his own nuclear framework when he takes office in January. It is also not clear if Trump would do away with the incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act and infrastructure law that support nuclear power.

Podesta said at a press conference in Baku that many Republican governors have come out in support of the Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy funding. "Many Republicans — especially governors — know all this activity is a good thing for their districts, states, and for their economy," he said.

He also cited a letter sent earlier this year by 18 House Republicans to Speaker Mike Johnson urging him not to repeal the IRA's energy tax credits. He said the letter explicitly states that a full repeal would create a worst-case scenario where billions of taxpayer dollars were spent with nearly no return on investment.

Podesta suggested that such support gave him confidence that the clean energy provisions of the IRA would weather the Trump presidency.

"It's precisely because the IRA has staying power that I am confident that the United States will continue to reduce emissions — benefiting our own country and benefiting the world," Podesta said.