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The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a key piece of legislation aimed at bolstering the country’s nuclear energy sector.
The bill passed by a vote of 88-2 with Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) opposing the measure. The nuclear package was combined with another bill that reauthorized the U.S. Fire Administration and grant programs for firefighters.
The measure aims to accelerate the process of approving the construction of new nuclear plants as many of the country’s existing plants reach the end of their serviceable lives. Additionally, it reduces the licensing fees that power companies must pay to initiate projects. It also mandates the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to prepare a report examining ways to simplify and expedite the environmental review process.
The Trump administration has placed an extreme focus on “unleashing American energy.”
President Trump issued four executive orders directing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reduce rules and expedite new licenses for nuclear power facilities, acting on applications within 18 months.
The United States was formerly the world leader in nuclear design and construction, but delays and exorbitant prices have given that position to China, which is building a record number of reactors.
The directives aim to expedite federal permitting for new nuclear projects and technology, as well as implement cost-cutting strategies to reduce the NRC’s footprint.
The sector will benefit from federal subsidies, since the House of Representatives’ draft budget legislation retains tax incentives for new and existing nuclear facilities, but requires them to begin construction before January 1, 2029.
The plan is to triple domestic nuclear power generation over the next 25 years, boosting capacity from around 100 gigawatts to 400 gigawatts by 2050.
On Tuesday, OpenAI and Oracle disclosed their intention to construct five additional data center sites as part of the “Stargate” initiative.
This initiative would substantially enhance the U.S. AI infrastructure and could potentially influence the grid composition in numerous states.
The companies, which are collaborating with SoftBank, stated that Stargate, which is supported by President Trump, has approximately 7 gigawatts of planned capacity and $400 billion in planned investment over the next three years.
This brings the initiative in close proximity to its initial objective of investing $500 billion in AI infrastructure and constructing 10 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2028.
The development of data centers is being closely monitored due to their potential to revolutionize the electric grid and its energy consumption.
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that the AI build-out could utilize approximately 12 percent of the U.S. electricity by 2028.
In July, Oracle and OpenAI signed an agreement to invest over $300 billion in data centers over the next five years, which is the source of the majority of the new capacity. The corporations have announced that they are in the process of constructing data center sites in Shackelford County, Texas; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and an unspecified location in the Midwest.
The new complexes are anticipated to generate over 5.5 gigawatts of power capacity and create over 25,000 jobs in conjunction with an operational Stargate site in Abilene, Texas, according to the companies.
That is more than twice the amount of electricity necessary to supply electricity to San Francisco.
The other two new Stargate sites, which are currently under development by OpenAI and SoftBank, are located in Milam County, Texas, and Lordstown, Ohio.
The Texas location is being supported by SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary, while the Ohio complex has commenced construction and is anticipated to be operational next year. The companies indicated that they may shortly disclose additional locations associated with Stargate.
Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank officials stated that they evaluated more than 300 proposals for data centers throughout the nation in order to determine the most suitable locations.
Microsoft, OpenAI’s supporter, is collaborating with Constellation Energy to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania and is currently in the process of constructing a $4 billion data center complex in Wisconsin.
Meta is constructing an AI compound in Louisiana that will consume power equivalent to that of Manhattan. In Pennsylvania, Amazon is investing $20 billion to establish AI facilities.
Nvidia announced earlier this week that it would provide OpenAI with computer processors and invest $100 billion in the technology company.
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