The United States is pursuing a rapid expansion of existing nuclear capacity as electricity demand rises at a pace not seen in decades, driven largely by data centers and the growth of artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Rather than relying solely on new plants, the strategy centers on squeezing more output from the current fleet of 94 licensed reactors, which already generate almost 20 percent of the nation's electricity.
The Department of Energy launched the Utility Power Reactor Incremental Scaling Effort, known as UPRISE, in March 2026, with its financing office offering up to 80 percent funding for power uprate projects. Utilities are pursuing license renewals at 20 plants and power uprates at 29 units. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's expected applications list identifies roughly 30 planned uprates through 2030, including three applications in 2026, 16 in 2027, and eight in 2028.
Together, uprates, restarts, longer fuel cycles, and other output increases could add more than 8 gigawatts of carbon-free nuclear capacity over the coming decade, capacity that comes online faster and at lower cost than building entirely new reactors. Regulators are also streamlining oversight, with changes to the Reactor Oversight Process set to reduce baseline inspection hours by 40 percent while maintaining environmental safeguards.
Advanced projects are advancing in parallel. TerraPower received a construction permit in March 2026, the first the commission has issued for a commercial non-light-water power reactor, and broke ground on its Natrium plant the following month. The combination of fleet expansion, regulatory reform, and new reactor construction reflects a coordinated push to grow nuclear generation as utilities confront steep load growth.
Source: POWER Magazine -- https://www.powermag.com/doe-unveils-initiative-to-add-5-gw-of-nuclear-capacity-through-uprates-and-restarts/