The US government signed the agreement on Tuesday on the sidelines of President Donald Trump’s visit to Japan. According to a joint statement, the nuclear energy company Westinghouse will supply the technology and the Cameco Group will supply the uranium fuel rods. The new reactors would “revitalize the industrial base of nuclear energy,” it said. There was currently no information on the number of planned new reactors.
At the end of May, Trump signed four decrees for the construction of new nuclear power plants. The United States wanted to become “a real power” in the nuclear sector again, Trump said. The goal is to quadruple nuclear power production over the next 25 years through accelerated approvals and less stringent requirements.
The United States currently has 94 operating nuclear reactors, the largest number in the world. However, the kilns are considered outdated; their average age is over 40 years. Trump dismissed security concerns.
The US internet company Google concluded an agreement with the company Nextera Energy to restart a decommissioned nuclear power plant in the US state of Iowa. The old Duane Arnold plant, which was shut down in 2020, will also provide energy for AI applications from 2029. According to US media, restarting the nuclear power plant will cost more than $1.6 billion.
Duane Arnold is already the third nuclear power plant in the USA to be reactivated due to AI’s hunger for electricity – after Palisades in Michigan and Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. Duane Arnold was taken off the grid in 2020. Back then, Nextera decided to switch to cheaper wind power for economic reasons.
Google has also announced that it will finance the construction of three new nuclear power plants in the USA. The company also wants to build so-called mini-nuclear reactors (Small Modular Reactors; SMR), which are scheduled to go into operation from 2030. Amazon is also focusing on the development of new mini-nuclear reactors.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, commissioned the construction of a huge solar park in Texas on Monday. For this purpose, Meta concluded a contract with the French energy company Engie. The plant will deliver 600 megawatts of electricity, Engie said. This means that a total of four renewable energy plants in the USA will supply 1.3 gigawatts of electricity to Meta.
In addition, Meta also relies on nuclear power. The company announced in June that it would purchase nuclear power from the Clinton power plant in Illinois. The nuclear power plant was put into operation in 1987 and was actually supposed to be taken off the grid in 2017, but operation was then extended until 2027.
