The U.S. nuclear industry is entering an expansion phase after years of retirements, marked by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's first-ever approval of a reactor restart. Holtec's Palisades plant in Michigan is scheduled to return to service later this year, a milestone for a fleet that generates almost 20 percent of the nation's electricity from 94 licensed reactors.
Other idled reactors are set to follow. Constellation's Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania is planned to restart in 2027, and Duane Arnold in Iowa is expected to come back in 2029. Regulators are also extending the life of existing plants; the NRC authorized Florida Power and Light's St. Lucie plant to operate for another 20 years in April 2026.
Federal policy has shifted to support the buildout. In October 2025 the U.S. government announced an $80 billion strategic partnership with Westinghouse Electric Company and its owners, Brookfield Asset Management and Cameco, to deploy a fleet of AP1000 and AP300 reactors across the country. The arrangement includes government-arranged financing and streamlined permitting.
Regulators are moving faster as well. An executive order set a 12-month target for license renewal reviews, and the NRC has begun meeting it. Nuclear power is projected to hold a steady 18 percent share of U.S. generation in 2026. Industry analysts caution that the rising volume of licensing actions will test NRC staffing and could create bottlenecks if agency resources do not keep pace with demand.
Source: NEI -- https://www.nei.org/news/state-of-the-nuclear-industry-2026