5 Ways the U.S. Nuclear Energy Industry Is Evolving in 2024

Coal plants are another potential venue for new reactor construction.  

Research indicates that an additional 128 to 174 GW of new nuclear capacity could be built near coal plants — many of which are projected to retire by 2035 as states transition to cleaner energy sources.

Lessons Learned from Recent Builds 

The nuclear industry is building momentum after the completion of Vogtle Units 3 and 4, which were boosted by the demand for clean energy and availability of federal tax credits that can be paired with attractive debt financing from our Loan Programs Office.  

As a result, Plant Vogtle is the largest generator of clean electricity in the United States! 

To sustain this momentum, the industry must learn from Vogtle’s construction and ensure that future projects are completed on time and on budget.  

The report explains that many of Vogtle’s cost were first-of-a-kind or project-specific costs that would be unlikely to repeat with the next AP1000s. 

This is because Vogtle began construction with an incomplete AP1000 design, an immature supply chain, and an untrained work force.  

Now the AP1000 design is complete, the supply chain infrastructure has been built, and more than 30,000 workers have been trained.  

Just take a look at the improvements made from Vogtle Unit 3 to Unit 4 across key milestones in the project.  

The report explains that Unit 4 is estimated to have been roughly 30% more efficient and 20% cheaper to build than Unit 3, and future reactor projects can expect to see even greater savings!