Senate Gives Trump Huge Win To Strengthen Energy Sector
The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a key piece of legislation aimed at bolstering the country’s nuclear energy sector. The nuclear package was combined with another bill that reauthorized the U.S. Fire Administration and grant programs for firefighters.
The measure aims to accelerate the process of approving the construction of new nuclear plants as many of the country’s existing plants reach the end of their serviceable lives. Additionally, it reduces the licensing fees that power companies must pay to initiate projects. It also mandates the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to prepare a report examining ways to simplify and expedite the environmental review process.
The bill passed by a vote of 88-2, with Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) opposing the measure.
The Trump administration has placed an extreme focus on “unleashing American energy.”
President Trump issued four executive orders directing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to streamline regulations and expedite the issuance of new licenses for nuclear power facilities, to act on applications within 18 months.
The United States was formerly the world leader in nuclear design and construction. Still, delays and exorbitant prices have given that position to China, which is building a record number of reactors.
The directives aim to expedite federal permitting for new nuclear projects and technology, as well as implement cost-cutting strategies to reduce the NRC’s footprint.
The sector will benefit from federal subsidies, since the House of Representatives’ draft budget legislation retains tax incentives for new and existing nuclear facilities but requires them to begin construction before January 1, 2029.
The plan is to triple domestic nuclear power generation over the next 25 years, boosting capacity from around 100 gigawatts to 400 gigawatts by 2050.
This comes as the U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that the long-idle nuclear reactor at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island, which is contracted to provide power to Microsoft data centers, will be restarted with the help of a $1 billion loan.
The action is in line with President Donald Trump’s goals of encouraging the development of artificial intelligence and increasing nuclear energy.
The worst commercial nuclear catastrophe in the country occurred in 1979 at Three Mile Island, which is situated in the Susquehanna River close to Harrisburg. Unit 2 was destroyed by a partial meltdown.
Unit 1, the plant’s lone reactor, ran for decades until Exelon, the former parent company of Constellation Energy, closed it in 2019 due to financial losses and a lack of state funding to maintain the facility.
The federal loan is anticipated to lower finance costs for Constellation Energy, the owner of the site’s last operational reactor, as the business attempts to restart the 835-megawatt facility.
The reactor, which can power about 800,000 homes, has been out of commission since 2019, but it is scheduled to reopen in 2027 as part of a 20-year contract for Microsoft to buy its output.
The turbine, generator, primary power transformer, and cooling and control systems are among the major pieces of equipment that Constellation has started to restore after announcing last year that it would invest $1.6 billion to restart the facility, which is now known as the Crane Clean Energy Center.
Through a $250 billion federal energy infrastructure initiative that Congress approved in 2022, the loan is being made available.
Politicians and businesses are once again interested in nuclear power because of rising electricity demand, especially from data centers that use a lot of power.
This is because lawmakers are looking for carbon-free energy sources to meet this demand. Officials at the federal level say that restarting old nuclear plants is necessary to keep the power grid stable and meet long-term climate goals.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement, “Thanks to President Trump’s bold leadership and the Working Families Tax Cut, the United States is taking unprecedented steps to lower energy costs and bring about the next American nuclear renaissance. Constellation’s restart of a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania will provide affordable, reliable, and secure energy to Americans across the Mid-Atlantic region. It will also help ensure America has the energy it needs to grow its domestic manufacturing base and win the AI race.”
