Posted on May 21, 2026 by Jeremy Harrell
This op-ed was originally published by The National Interest on May 21, 2026. Click here to read the entire piece.
Public and private investment is accelerating reactor deployment, rebuilding the domestic fuel supply chain, and laying the foundation for a long-awaited American nuclear renaissance.
One year ago, President Donald Trump signed four executive orders (EOs) that charted a new course to rebuild America’s nuclear industry. Together, they represent the most ambitious steps any president has taken to advance nuclear energy in the 21st century, aiming to deliver the long-promised nuclear renaissance.
Trump’s Nuclear Executive Orders Set Ambitious Goals for US Nuclear Energy
These executive orders established a framework to accelerate reactor deployment, rebuild the nuclear fuel supply chain, and restore US competitiveness globally through agencies such as the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to finance major American projects abroad. They provided specific, measurable targets to rapidly test new reactor designs, begin construction on 10 large reactors by 2030, quadruple US nuclear capacity to 400 gigawatts (GW) by 2050, address fuel shortages and waste disposal, streamline the regulatory environment, and rebuild a globally competitive industry capable of outcompeting China and Russia.
In this era of rising demand, the federal government cannot constrain nuclear development; all levers of government are increasingly working to enable more nuclear development. President Trump’s orders are more than just headlines; they’re part of a cohesive public-private strategy to accelerate the American nuclear industry.
Big Tech and Industry Are Powering Advanced Nuclear Reactor Deployment
Many of these projects are private sector-driven. Some of America’s largest companies, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Dow, and others, are turning to both existing and new nuclear energy to meet skyrocketing power needs.
Today, some of these companies are supporting commercial advanced nuclear reactor projects under construction in Wyoming, Texas, and Tennessee. Furthermore, several companies are also now on track to reach first criticality through the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Reactor Pilot Program, and the Department of Defense (DOD) is actively moving to deploy microreactors across military installations through the Janus program and Project Pele.
These programs provide a critical opportunity to demonstrate and test advanced technologies. Beyond that, roughly 8 GW of new reactors are planned, another 2 GW are coming back online through plant restarts, and up to 5 GW more are being explored through uprates at existing facilities.
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