Last Friday, the President signed four executive orders aimed at speeding up nuclear energy development in the United States.
The first order instructs the Department of Defense to install new reactor technologies at military bases. The second targets the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), demanding faster approval timelines for new reactors, a review of radiation exposure risks, and further cuts to agency staff.
The third order directs the Department of Energy to test and approve at least three new reactor designs by July 4, 2026.
The fourth order, which carries the most funding, calls for federal support for uranium fuels—especially high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU)—starting construction of at least ten new gigawatt-scale reactors by 2030, and developing processes to reprocess spent nuclear fuel waste.
In a bold statement, the President proposed expanding the current U.S. nuclear power fleet to 400 gigawatts—about four times today’s capacity—while promising no cost overruns.
Interestingly, most of these plans were already included in the Biden administration’s bipartisan ADVANCE Act, passed last July. That law pushed for faster reactor approvals, promoted microreactors, approved two reactor designs for military use, encouraged using former coal plant sites for new nuclear projects, and allocated funds for uranium fuel purchases like HALEU and TRISO, the latter used in molten salt and high-temperature gas reactors.
The ADVANCE Act acknowledged that current regulations have slowed the development of advanced reactors with new fuels and coolants. It aimed to speed approvals to support this growing industry with strong political backing.
The main difference between Trump’s recent executive orders and Biden’s ADVANCE Act is on staffing: Trump’s orders call for deeper regulatory staff cuts while imposing tighter deadlines, whereas Biden’s law sought more staff to manage the workload.
In short, this move could be seen as “Trump embracing Biden’s nuclear policy with some tweaks on agency personnel.”At the signing, CEOs from Constellation Energy and Oklo Power were present. Constellation is a major nuclear operator in the U.S., while Oklo is developing a small 75-megawatt liquid metal cooled breeder reactor. Shares of small modular reactor (SMR) developers like NuScale and Oklo surged sharply, with NuScale’s stock rising about 55% and Oklo’s about 52% in five days, reflecting strong investor confidence.
However, despite the excitement around SMRs, only one gigawatt-scale reactor design is currently approved and ready to operate in the U.S.: the Westinghouse AP1000, built recently by Southern Company at Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4. Westinghouse is owned by a Canadian conglomerate, which complicates matters given current political tensions.
Two final points stand out: First, by clashing with Canada, the President might slow down efforts to revive nuclear power. Second, nuclear energy is becoming a global industry, and trade uncertainties like tariffs could present additional challenges.
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