Four Nuclear Orders Aim at 400 GW and Put AI Data Centers on Federal Land

The White House signed four executive orders on nuclear energy on May 23, and AI data centers run through them. The orders set a national goal of expanding U.S. nuclear capacity from around 100 GW today to 400 GW by 2050. They direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to rewrite its rules within 18 months and adopt fixed licensing deadlines. They tell the Energy Department to prioritize 5 GW of uprates at existing reactors and construction on 10 new large reactors by 2030.

And one of them directs the department to treat some AI data centers at its sites as critical defense facilities and to get an advanced reactor operating at the first such site within 30 months. Adding about 300 GW over 25 years would mean bringing roughly 12 GW of new nuclear capacity online every year from now to 2050. The fact sheet on the nuclear industrial base order says the Energy Department will prioritize facilitating 5 GW of uprates at existing reactors and construction on 10 new large reactors by 2030.

The NRC order directs the commission to complete rulemakings within 18 months to revise its regulations and guidance comprehensively. The revisions include fixed deadlines: 18 months for a decision on construction and operation of a new reactor and 12 months for continued operation of an existing one. For data center developers who have signed deals for future nuclear supply, licensing time is the critical variable. Deals such as Constellation's 20-year agreement with Microsoft to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1, now the Crane Clean Energy Center, depend on NRC approval.

Section 4 directs the Secretary of Energy to start designating AI data centers in the contiguous United States that are located at or operated in coordination with Energy Department facilities, including those supporting national security missions, as critical defense facilities where appropriate. On the defense side, the Army is to begin operating a reactor at a domestic military base no later than September 30, 2028.