[Source/Observer Network, Ruan Jiaqi]

Local time on May 22nd, British media Reuters reported, citing four sources familiar with the matter, that U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as early as this Friday. This order will promote the development of America's nuclear energy industry by simplifying the approval and regulatory processes for new reactors and strengthening the fuel supply chain. The specific content of this draft has not yet been finalized.

According to these sources, a summary of the draft executive order indicates that Trump will once again invoke the Defense Production Act of the United States, using the argument that the U.S. is "dependent on China and Russia" in areas such as enriched uranium, nuclear fuel processing, and advanced reactor components, and declare a national emergency as a result.

The draft summary instructs agencies to approve and site new nuclear facilities, directs the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to identify federal lands and facilities for deploying nuclear installations, and simplifies construction procedures. Additionally, this order encourages the Department of Energy to use loan guarantees and direct loans to accelerate reactor construction.

A source also mentioned that industry organizations representing American nuclear energy companies, such as the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), which represents Duke Energy and Exelon, as well as Constellation Energy, the largest operator of nuclear power plants in the U.S., have been invited to attend the signing ceremony on Friday afternoon. Neither the aforementioned institutions nor the White House have responded to requests for comment.

Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia during construction. U.S. Department of Energy website.

According to Reuters reports, in response to the first significant increase in electricity demand in twenty years brought about by the rapid development of artificial intelligence, Trump announced a "national energy emergency" in his inauguration speech in January, emphasizing the insufficient supply of electricity in the U.S., which cannot meet the growing needs of the country, especially the demand from data centers running artificial intelligence systems.

According to the Department of Energy, as the main driver of electricity growth, the electricity consumption of U.S. data centers may nearly triple over the next three years and consume 12% of the nation's electricity to support artificial intelligence and other technologies.

In his inauguration speech, Trump claimed that environmental restrictions on power plants would be relaxed, new power plant construction would be accelerated, and the approval process for transmission and pipeline projects would be simplified.

"This measure allows the government to take all necessary measures to address the crisis," Trump told reporters at the time, "and we are indeed facing such an emergency situation."

According to reports by The New York Times, although most of Trump's actions focused on promoting fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, U.S. government officials also supported the development of nuclear energy.

Earlier reports by U.S. media stated that the Trump administration was discussing four draft executive orders aimed at boosting nuclear power development, involving expanding the government's approval authority for reactors, reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which oversees reactor safety, among others. It remains unclear whether the final issued executive order will include any of these.

A draft executive order seen by The New York Times pointed out that the U.S. has fallen behind China in expanding its nuclear power scale, calling for a "comprehensive revision" of federal safety regulations to clear obstacles for new nuclear power plants.

A draft titled "Welcoming the Nuclear Renaissance" wrote, "As the U.S. development in new nuclear reactor designs has stalled, 87% of the globally built nuclear reactors since 2017 have been based on Russian and Chinese designs." "This trend cannot continue. Swift and decisive action is needed to drive America's nuclear renaissance."

Reports indicated that one of the drafts envisioned the U.S. Department of Defense playing a key role in ordering reactors and deploying them to military bases. A proposed plan under consideration also planned to designate certain artificial intelligence data centers as "defense critical infrastructure" to bypass the review of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Another draft set a target of quadrupling nuclear power capacity: planning to increase the total U.S. nuclear power installed capacity from nearly 100 gigawatts currently to 400 gigawatts by 2050. One gigawatt of electricity is sufficient to meet the needs of nearly a million households.

Reuters mentioned that during Trump's first term as president, he supported the construction of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia through the Loan Programs Office (LPO) under the Department of Energy. According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration then approved a $3.7 billion package to maintain the operation of both units of this nuclear power plant.

However, times have changed, and the operational capability of LPO is no longer what it used to be. Although thanks to the bills passed during former President Biden's tenure, LPO now holds tens of billions of dollars in financing funds. But during Trump's second term, the agency has faced operational difficulties due to significant layoffs.

According to reports by U.S. Newsweek, Emmet Penney, a senior researcher at the Foundation for American Innovation (FAI), told the media in an interview that cuts to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may impact Trump's nuclear power plans.

He said that if private capital cannot be attracted to participate in new nuclear financing through LPO to reduce risks, and if public utilities do not purchase new nuclear businesses, and enterprises are not incentivized to invest in construction, new nuclear projects will not proceed. "The private sector cannot bear such risks alone."

"Especially given the current uncertainties in the supply chain and tariff policies," Penney added, "the trade war and its induced uncertainties have elevated the nature of LPO from 'important' to 'necessary'."

The New York Times also pointed out, "It turns out that building new nuclear power plants in the U.S. faces huge challenges."

Reports stated that despite the U.S. still being the country with the largest nuclear power installed capacity in the world, only three new reactors have come online since 1996. High construction costs have deterred many public utility companies. The two latest reactors built at the Vogtle nuclear power plant cost $35 billion, twice the original estimate, and were completed seven years later than originally planned.

Currently, more than ten companies are working on developing new-generation reactors. The industry hopes that these smaller-scale reactors will reduce upfront investment costs, thereby reducing the investment risks for public utility companies and helping the industry achieve cost optimization.

"But so far, none of these new-generation nuclear power plants have been built," the U.S. media lamented.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reproduced without permission.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7507550374145081856/

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