The great power game

Get over yourself to 2017. To go out And The shape of water played in theaters, Zohran Mamdani was still known as the rapper Young Cardamom, and the Asset The administration, newly in power, was eager to support its favored energy sources.

That year, the administration introduced a series of subsidies for struggling coal-fired power plants and nuclear plants, which were facing growing price pressures for cheap gas and renewable energy. The plan would have cost taxpayers billions of dollars. It didn’t work.

In the following years, the nuclear industry continued to face obstacles. Three nuclear power plants have closed since 2020, while construction of two of the four reactors started since 2000 has been suspended after a decade and billions of dollars following a political scandal. Coal, for its part, continues its long decline: it represents only 17 percent of the American energy mixdown from a peak of 45 percent reached in 2010.

Today, these two energy sources are getting a second chance. The difference this time is the buzz around AIbut it is not certain that the result will be very different.

Throughout 2025, the Trump administration has not only promoted nuclear power, but also positioned it specifically as a solution to AI energy needs. In May, the president signed a series of executive orders intended to boost nuclear power in the United States, including ordering the construction of 10 new large reactors by 2030. An Energy Department pilot program created in the wake of May’s executive orders — coupled with a serious overhaul of the country’s nuclear regulator — has already led to inroads by small startups. Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy said in September, progress in AI “will be accelerated by the rapid unlocking and deployment of commercial nuclear power.”

The administration’s efforts are reflected in investments by technology companies. Giants like Google, Amazon and Microsoft have signed numerous deals in recent years with nuclear companies to power data centers; Microsoft itself joined the World Nuclear Association. In the United States, several decommissioned reactors are being considered for restart, including two of three that have closed in the past five years, along with the technology industry. support some of these arrangements. (This includes Microsoft’s high-profile reboot of the infamous Three Mile Island, which is also be supported by a billion-dollar loan from the federal government.) Now is the right time for the private and public sectors to promote nuclear power: public support for nuclear energy is the highest since 2010.

Despite everything Thus, the practical aspects of nuclear energy cast doubt on its future. Most nuclear costs come not from onerous regulations but from construction. The reviews are be wary of exaggerated valuations for small modular reactor companies, especially those with close ties to the Trump administration. The government’s $80 billion deal with reactor giant Westinghouse in October is light on detail, leaving the industry with more questions than answers. And despite large-scale technological agreements which promise to make the reactors operational in a few years, the deadlines remain delicate.