How to add 300 gigawatts of nuclear energy by 2050

On May 23, President Donald Trump laid out a four-point plan (via four executive orders) to spark a nuclear energy renaissance in the United States based on his belief that nuclear energy is a superior carbon-free choice to wind and solar.

It was a very tall order.

Achieving his goal of adding 300 gigawatts to the nation’s existing 100 gigawatts of nuclear-generated electricity is quite a challenge, especially since the only new nuclear power plants built in the U.S. this century had massive cost overruns. In the short run, new reactors will be powered by nuclear fission, as fusion technology is still in the developmental stages.

Calling climate change spending one of the biggest malinvestments in human history, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the 10 trillion dollars invested globally “fighting climate change” has gotten solar up to 1.2 percent of global energy and wind up to 1.4 percent. Moreover, where grid penetration of wind and solar is high, as in Germany, the United Kingdom, and California, power prices have skyrocketed.

America’s nuclear power industry, said Wright, was “destroyed” by climate change policies and “regulatory misunderstandings.” The U.S. needs to quickly add 100 GW of reliable capacity that is there at peak demand, said Wright, and the pathway to doubling U.S. generation capacity is not going through wind and solar.

While multiple nuclear companies are working on small modular reactors and even micro reactors to meet special needs (such as powering remote mining operations or for various military purposes), the only pathway to doubling – and eventually quadrupling – U.S. energy capacity is through building large reactors – but not with multi-billion-dollar cost overruns and decades-long delays.

To that end, Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse is planning to start construction of the first of 10 new AP1000 reactors by 2030, just as President Trump demanded. Interim CEO Dan Sumner boasted that the 10 reactor-project will drive $75 billion of economic value across the U.S. and create or sustain more than 55,000 jobs across manufacturing, engineering, and construction.

Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactor has a gross power rating of 3,415 MW thermal and a nominal net electrical output of 1,110 MW electric, and its reactor vessel and internals, steam generator, fuel, and pressurizer designs are upgrades from existing PWRs. Westinghouse promises considerable capital savings and lower maintenance costs than with earlier designs.

Longer term, the challenge is not just to build nuclear energy capacity but to address concerns over growing piles of nuclear waste – including the 95 to 97 percent of nuclear fuel unburned in light-water and pressurized-water reactors. Today’s generation IV and V “fast” reactors, including molten salt reactors, can be designed to burn nearly all of what is now deemed nuclear waste – leaving behind tiny amounts of plutonium that some fear could be turned into weapons.

Another reactor design, long in use across Canada, India, and several other countries, is the CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) heavy-water reactor developed by Canadian scientists and engineers. These reactors, which use deuterium oxide as moderator and coolant and natural (not enriched) uranium as fuel, can be refueled while operating at full power, whereas most other reactors require a shutdown for refueling.

The Darlington unit 1 pressurized heavy-water reactor in Canada holds the world record for continuous operation, at 1,106 days, while China’s CANDU-6 reactor in Qinshan set a new record of 738 days of continuous operation – the longest uninterrupted operation for the design.

Overall, the Canadian nuclear industry has been less hampered by regulations than its American counterpart. The renewed interest in nuclear energy in the U.S. has prompted the Canadian firm AtkinsRéalis to pursue a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license for its CANDU reactors – the only ones in the world that do not rely on enriched uranium.

CANDU reactors not only burn natural uranium, they can also easily use spent, enriched nuclear fuel from light-water reactors. The “nuclear waste” from the CANDU reactors can be used as fuel for the fusion reactors that are promised for the not-too-distant future. The chief concern is the potential for a positive void coefficient, in which reactivity increases as steam bubbles form in the coolant.

AtkinsRéalis Senior Vice President of Nuclear Strategy & Commercialization Zabrina Joahl, who is overseeing the firm’s efforts to place more CANDU reactors worldwide, believes the Canadian reactors can play a major role in fulfilling President Trump’s crusade to quadruple America’s nuclear-generated electricity by 2050.

Joahl, a Montana native who spent two decades with San Diego-based General Atomics, says her frustration with the lack of government support for the U.S. nuclear industry prompted her to take the AtkinsRéalis job. Until now, no Canadian firm has sought an NRC license.

President Trump has opened the door, but next month’s meeting with the NRC may determine whether CANDU reactors can become a part of the U.S. nuclear energy mix.

Joahl, who joined AtkinsRéalis last May, says her firm has major advantages over American nuclear startups, having built and maintained over 30 CANDU reactors worldwide. CANDU reactors are now operating in India, Argentina, China, Pakistan, Romania, and South Korea. India has also built 16 other reactors using a modified CANDU design. The firm is also partnering with EDF in France and the United Kingdom in its new nuclear build program.

Back in 2024, AtkinsRéalis joined with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) to explore opportunities to collaborate on production of heavy water needed for the CANDU reactors. Canada was already anticipating rapid growth in the nuclear energy industry, including the possibility of new reactors in Ontario.

AtkinsRealis President Joe St. Julian calls CANDU technology “a source of national pride,” and said the new emphasis on producing deuterium also safeguards the supply of the global isotope market with cancer-fighting nuclear medicine. The CANDU reactors in Ontario are the only commercial scale reactors that can produce medical isotopes while also generating electricity; they supply half of the world’s supply of cancer-fighting Cobalt 60.

Canada is also expanding its production of uranium, including developing the Rook I Project in Saskatchewan that NextGen Energy Ltd. says will represent over 23 percent of the world’s uranium production in its first few years of operation. Another Canadian firm, Denison Mines, is also moving forward with its Phoenix in-situ recovery uranium project in Saskatchewan.

Despite any short-term political differences, Canada remains the closest U.S. ally and potential partner in building out the 300 GW of nuclear energy called for in President Trump’s executive orders. While the nonproliferation issue remains unresolved, the revamped NRC will soon decide if CANDU reactors will become a viable option for the much-anticipated U.S. nuclear energy buildout.