House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Spur an American ‘Nuclear Renaissance’

In a rare display of legislative fusion, the fast-tracked Atomic Energy Advancement Act gets overwhelming endorsement and is now headed for the Senate.

Aerial view of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant which sits on the edge of the Pacific Ocean at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., on March 17, 2011. Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

In 1980, the United States produced and processed 90 percent of the uranium used by 251 nuclear power plants that generated 11 percent of the country’s electricity.

In 2021, only 5 percent of the uranium used by the 55 nuclear power plants operating the country—which now generates nearly 20 percent of the nation’s electricity—was produced domestically.