U.S. Nuclear Energy Revival: New Projects and Next-Gen Reactors Lead the Charge
One of America’s largest power utilities and other U.S. energy developers are hoping to lead a U.S. nuclear energy revival with new projects and next-gen nuclear reactor technologies over the coming decade.
North Carolina-based Duke Energy, civil nuclear developer IP3, Southern Energy Renewables and others are exploring future and separate possibilities for expanding nuclear capacity. Nuclear reactors do not generate carbon emissions at the point of generation and can provide baseload-level power to meet future needs of artificial intelligence, cloud-based data computing and industrial automation.
Duke Energy has submitted an early site permit (ESP) application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a nuclear power station near the Belews Creek Steam Station in Stokes County, N.C.
Submitting an ESP application is a first for Duke Energy and a risk-mitigation strategy for the company as it pursues new nuclear generation options. An ESP is an optional NRC process that resolves environmental and site safety topics on the front end of a project and confirms a site's suitability for new nuclear generation.
"Nuclear energy has and will continue to play an essential role in powering communities in the Carolinas," said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy's North Carolina president, in a statement. "Submitting an early site permit application is an important next step in assessing the potential for small modular reactors at the Belews Creek site."
Meanwhile, carbon management firm DevvStream Corp. announced a tandem memorandum of understanding (MOU) on collaborating toward small modular reactor (SMR) development with IP3, Southern Energy Renewables and XCF Global Inc.
The MOU outlines a proposed integrated framework to assess the development and deployment of firm zero-carbon nuclear electricity from future SMRs to support clean fuel production and energy-intensive end markets, including AI data centers, while enabling robust environmental-attribute structures that may meet evolving compliance, reporting, and market standards. The MOU also outlines a framework to explore the development and deployment of SMR-generated electricity to support existing and future operating assets, including a potential nuclear power solution for a proposed SAF refinery in Louisiana.
“Together, we are exploring real-world asset and tokenized environmental-asset frameworks with the potential to unlock additional value, improve liquidity, and help lower the delivered cost of clean energy and fuels,” said Sunny Trinh, Chief Executive Officer of DevvStream. “We see this as a potential America-first model that combines U.S. resources, digital infrastructure, and scalable markets.”
In the U.S., the nation’s 94 operational nuclear power units are generating about 18% of utility-scale electricity resources and close to half of carbon-free power. The anticipated demand of AI and cloud-based computing expansion in an “Industrial Compute Age” is driving hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Google and Meta to seek future nuclear power purchase agreements for both existing power, eventual SMR projects and restarting idle plants such as Three Mile Island Unit 1.