COP announcement: U.S. government unveils framework for expanding nuclear energy deployment

The White House issued the Framework as a follow up to a COP28 announcement, where the U.S. and a number of other countries committed to triple the use of nuclear energy by 2025 (which we wrote about here). The Framework calls for tripling U.S. nuclear capacity by 2050 to meet U.S. energy needs, including for reliable and clean energy, and to support U.S. economic opportunity and national security interests. With recent projections for energy growth in the U.S., market forces may have already made the train leave the station, making it critical that the U.S. government create an environment for efficient permitting and licensing of new nuclear projects.

As we wrote about last week, energy demand in the United States is projected to rise massively over the next decade due to growth in data centers, industrialization and electrification.  Of the three, data centers are the leading contributor to this projected demand increase—with their growth predominately driven by the emergence of generative AI, which needs major data processing capabilities and—as a result—consumes a large amount of electricity. Large data centers can consume about the same amount of electricity as a medium-sized city. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that data centers alone, which currently use about 4% of U.S. electricity, could consume up to 9% of U.S. electricity generation annually by 2030—which, if measured as a percentage of 2023 generation, would be about 376,000 gigawatt hours, or the electricity production of the entire country of Indonesia (for scale).  Adding in projected increases from new domestic manufacturing, rise in electric vehicles, and broader electrification, the total energy demand in the United States could grow 25-29% in the next decade—this is double the projections from just last year, and the number continues to rise.

At this rate, nuclear needs to be added at a significant pace—with is in line with or more aggressive than the Frameworks plans—to meet U.S. energy needs.

Overview of the Framework

Under the Framework, the U.S. government is establishing a target to deploy 200 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2050—at least tripling nuclear energy capacity from 2020.  Framework at 8. 

Overall, the Framework lays out more than 30 actions the U.S. government, U.S. nuclear industry, and power customers can take to support the increased deployment of nuclear energy. Framework at 5. These 30+ actions are spread across nine “pillars” of action, each focusing on a different aspect of nuclear deployment—such as licensing and permitting, workforce development, component supply chains, fuel cycle supply chains, and spent fuel management. Framework at 5.  Underlying these pillars are seven “guiding principles,” which lay out the U.S. government’s core values for responsible development of nuclear energy.

The Framework relies on lessons learned from the history of civil nuclear energy. For example, the White House is setting interim deployment targets for 2035 and 2040 in part based on U.S. achievements from the 1970s and 1980s—when the U.S. government deployed about 100 GW, with a peak production of over 10 GW added in 1974.

Generally, the U.S. government posits that greater technology innovation, design standardization, modularization, and repetition, all could enable the United States to deploy nuclear plants faster and more efficiently—and the White House believes that the U.S. has established a solid foundation over the past four years to carry the Framework forward. Framework at 9. 

More details on the Framework are below.

Specific Action Items and Principles

• Deployment Targets: The U.S. government is establishing a target to deploy 200 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2050 and near-term goals for ramping up that deployment.
  • By 2035, the U.S. government envisions 35 GW of new capacity will be operating or under construction. Meeting this target will require development of an orderbook of sufficient quality for multiple reactor designs—an idea the U.S. Department of Energy laid out in its Pathways to Commercial Liftoff Report, which we wrote about here. Framework at 9.
  • By 2040, the United States should have a sustained pace of adding 15 GW per year of new nuclear capacity. At this point, the U.S. government envisions the nuclear industry would support hundreds of thousands of good-paying construction and operation jobs across the United States. However, achieving this production rate will require an expanded workforce, robust supply chains for fuel and components, and long-term solutions for managing spent fuel. Framework at 9.
  • The new capacity would come from a combination of new plants—including large reactors, SMRs, and microreactors, and involving both Gen III+ and Gen IV technologies—as well as uprating existing reactors and restarting reactors that retired for economic reasons. Framework at 8.

• Guiding Principles: To underly this dramatic expansion of nuclear energy production and deployment, the U.S. government laid out seven guiding principles to ensure that nuclear energy is deployed in a safe and responsible manner. Framework at 11.
  • Ensuring public health and safety – Building on the reputation of U.S. nuclear energy as “among the safest and most secure industrial facilities in the world,” U.S. nuclear reactors should continue using the “defense-in-depth” approach and employ passive safety where possible. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) should continue to conduct rigorous, risk-informed safety reviews.  Framework at 11.
  • Protecting the environment – While nuclear energy delivers carbon-free electricity, all nuclear energy infrastructure—such as uranium recovery facilities and spent fuel repositories—still must incorporate the most robust environmental protections available to mitigate effects on local communities, lands, waters, and natural resources. Framework at 11-12.
  • Ensuring energy affordability – Nuclear energy must be affordable for all customers, so the U.S. government is taking actions to help—including low-cost financing, grants, tax credits, and policies. Framework at 12.
  • Meaningfully engaging with communities and delivering local community benefits – The NRC considers public involvement in, and information about, its activities to be a cornerstone of strong, fair regulation.  For federal funding opportunities, applicants must include a Community Benefits Plan to develop community and local support. Framework at 12-13.
  • Honoring Tribal sovereignty – Tribal consultation for nuclear projects should align with Executive Orders 13175 and 14112.  Further, the U.S. government has initiated the Nuclear Energy Tribal Working Group and the Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee to ensure early engagement with tribes and to fulfill the government’s federal trust responsibility. Framework at 13.
  • Advancing environmental justice – Projects across the nuclear life cycle must prioritize meaningful engagement, information access, and transparency in project siting and planning efforts. The U.S. government will also continue to address harms to Tribal Nations and local communities from historical civil nuclear energy development—such as by remediating abandoned uranium mines. Framework at 13.
  • Promoting national security – The U.S. government will continue to actively partner with the U.S. nuclear industry to incorporate nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation considerations as early as possible into the reactor design process and ensure that buyer countries can carry out their IAEA safeguards obligations.  Internationally, the U.S. government will try to establish secure, diverse, and responsible supply chains and deploy U.S.- and allied-nuclear projects. Framework at 13-14.

• Framework for Action:  The meat of the Framework is the action items it lays out—how the United States actually gets from current nuclear capacity to 200 GW by 2050.  Anchoring this strategy are nine pillars for action, many of which are already underway and which will apply to both the U.S. government and the private nuclear industry.  Under each pillar, the U.S. government established specific action items, totaling 30+ actions.  An overview of each pillar is below.  Framework at 15-18.
  • Building new large, gigawatt-scale reactors – Delivering on this pillar will require effective financing, leveraging prior experience—such as with Vogtle Units 3 and 4—delivering projects on-time and on-budget, and engaging with international, state, Tribal, and community partners.  Framework at 15-18.  Many of these action items reflect recommendations from DOE’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff Report (written about here). 
  • Building small modular reactors (SMRs) – Successfully deploying SMRs also will require financing and reducing costs through tax credits, as well as engagement with partners at all levels.  Building out the supply chain and availability of high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) is also critical.  Framework at 18-22.
  • Building microreactors – Key early steps include establishing a regulatory framework for advanced reactors, potentially deploying at defense installations and federal facilities, and expanding HALEU availability.  Framework at 22-23.
  • Extending and expanding existing reactors – Action items include subsequent license renewals, preparing for operation beyond 80 years, power uprates, and restarting recently retired reactors.  Engagement with state, local, and Tribal communities remains key.  Framework at 23-26.
  • Improving licensing and permitting – Opportunities exist to improve NRC environmental reviews, NRC licensing reviews, and NRC staff capacity.  The NRC can leverage both its prior experience and new tools such as artificial intelligence and advanced computing.  Framework at 26-28.
  • Developing the workforce – Both federal action—such as DOE awards for workforce development—and engagement with organized labor organizations can help prepare and expand the nuclear workforce.  Framework at 28-29.
  • Developing component supply chains – Among the actions the U.S. government suggests are tax credits for nuclear energy supply chains, ways to catalyze private sector investment in supply chains, and opportunities to form North American supply chain partnerships.
  • Developing fuel cycle supply chains – The U.S. government aims to develop a domestic uranium conversion and enrichment capacity—something we have written about previously (see here)—and work closely with international partners to develop an allied fuel supply chain.  Also key will be working closely with Tribes and establishing a roadmap to clean up abandoned uranium mines.  Framework at 31-33.
  • Managing spent nuclear fuel – The U.S. will continue pursuing consolidated interim storage and collaborate with other agencies for a consent-based siting process, among other action items.  Framework at 33-34.

Conclusion

The Framework outlines pathways to expand domestic nuclear energy—and shows how the U.S. government, nuclear industry, and nuclear work force can all play a role.  With this Framework, the White House signals its commitment to nuclear energy, both as a tool to mitigate climate change and as means to strengthen core sectors of the American economy. 

For more information, please contact Amy Roma, Partner, Stephanie Fishman, Senior Associate, Cameron Tarry Hughes, Associate.