According to White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi, the Biden administration is focusing on bringing decommissioned nuclear reactors back online to address the growing demand for emissions-free electricity. At a recent sustainability conference, Zaidi revealed two nuclear projects already in progress: Holtec’s Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan and Constellation Energy’s potential restart of a unit at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania.
“Repowering dormant nuclear plants is part of the administration’s broader strategy to increase the country’s nuclear power capacity,” Zaidi said. This effort is one component of a three-pronged approach to enhancing U.S. nuclear energy output. The strategy also includes the development of small modular reactors (SMRs) and the advancement of next-generation reactors.
Small modular reactors, in particular, are seen as a near-term solution, with the U.S. Navy actively requesting information about deploying them at several military bases. “SMR is a technology that is not a decades-away play,” Zaidi said, noting that companies are looking to deploy the technology within this decade.
The administration recently secured a $1.52 billion loan to help reopen the Palisades plant, which is expected to take two years to bring back online. Constellation and Microsoft have also partnered on a power deal aimed at resurrecting a unit at the Three Mile Island facility, with the hope that it will receive government support similar to the Palisades project.
In addition to nuclear energy, Biden’s clean energy goals include bringing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity online by the end of the decade. However, this initiative has faced challenges, including high costs, supply chain disruptions, and lower-than-expected demand in certain regions, such as Oregon and the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite these setbacks, Zaidi expressed optimism, stating that half of the 30GW target is already under construction. He believes that initial difficulties will provide valuable lessons for future projects and that the domestic supply chain will improve as more offshore wind projects come online.
As the demand for energy continues to increase, especially with the rise of power-hungry technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing, the Biden administration remains committed to tripling the country’s nuclear power capacity as a way to meet these demands while reducing emissions.
