The US nuclear sector entered a period of rapid activity in 2026, with the nation 94 licensed reactors generating close to 18 percent of the country electricity and several first-of-their-kind milestones reached in a matter of months. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the restart of a previously shuttered reactor for the first time, clearing Holtec Palisades plant in Michigan to return to service later in the year.
Advanced reactor development also advanced. TerraPower received its construction permit in March, the first ever issued by the commission for a commercial non-light-water power reactor, and broke ground on its Natrium plant the following month. NuScale Power received approval for an uprated small modular reactor design, becoming the second SMR design cleared for use in the United States.
Demand from technology companies has become a defining driver. Meta announced in January that it would procure up to 6.6 gigawatts of nuclear energy in the regional grid market from three partners, signaling how data center growth is reshaping power procurement. The combination of operating plants, restarts, and new builds reflects a broad shift in how utilities and large electricity buyers view nuclear baseload.
Regulatory and operational reporting continued through June, including routine event notifications from operating stations. Nuclear power is projected to hold a steady share of US generation in 2026, near the level recorded in 2025, even as the pipeline of restarts and advanced reactors points toward capacity growth later in the decade.
Source: Nuclear Energy Institute -- https://www.nei.org/news/state-of-the-nuclear-industry-2026