Nuclear Industry Looking to New Reactors to Expand Output

FILE - Test engineer Jacob Wilcox pulls his arm out of a glove box used for processing sodium at TerraPower, a company developing and building small nuclear reactors on Jan. 13, 2022, in Everett, Wash. The U.S. nuclear industry has provided a steady 20% of the nation's power for years, but now plant operators are hoping to nearly double their output over the next three decades, according to the industry's trade association. AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File

The U.S. nuclear industry is now looking to almost double its output over the next 30 years as older reactors retire, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the industry’s trade association.

Utility members of the institute estimate that they could add 90 gigawatts of nuclear power to the U.S. grid. The bulk of this power is set to come online by 2050. Such power capacity translates to around 300 new small modular reactors, Maria Korsnick, president and chief executive officer of the institute, told The Associated Press.