How rich countries can build cheap nuclear power again

Zero: The Climate Race

Bloomberg

Technology, Business, Science

4.7 • 219 Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Electricity demand is booming, and it’s not just because of artificial intelligence. So much so that many are ready to revisit the idea of nuclear power. Microsoft signed a $16 billion deal to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power their data centres for the next 20 years.

But developed countries haven’t built more than a handful of new reactors in decades. When they have tried, the cost of those nuclear plants and the time to build them has been extraordinary. Will this renewed interest yield different results? Nuclear scientist and partner at venture capital firm DCVC Rachel Slaybaugh joined Akshat Rathi on Zero to discuss how these new dreams of growing nuclear power can become a reality.

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Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	On his podcast Chasing Life, I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
0:04.1	CNN's chief medical correspondent brings you the secrets of the happiest and healthiest people on the planet so that you can live your best life.
0:13.2	Are some people just born happier than others?
0:15.9	And what might they be doing that the rest of us aren't?
0:19.9	Follow Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Apple, Spotify, IHeard podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:30.1	Welcome to Zero. I am Akshadrati. This week, Why the West Can't Build Nuclear.
0:49.3	Music Why the West Can't Build Nuclear? electricity demand is booming, and it's not just because of AI.
0:53.3	We are electrifying a lot of things,
0:55.7	from cars to heating to heavy industry, and that's got a lot of people thinking. Where will all
1:01.4	this electricity come from? And how can we make sure it's available whenever it's needed?
1:07.6	One of the technologies that people are turning to, or turning back to, is nuclear.
1:13.8	In fact, the demand is so great that in the U.S., previously decommissioned nuclear reactors are being turned back on.
1:20.6	Microsoft last year signed a $16 billion deal to reopen the 3-mile island nuclear power plant
1:26.4	to make sure they have enough electricity to power their data centers for the next 20 years.
1:32.8	The bigger conversation, of course, is about building out new reactors,
1:37.1	something the West hasn't done at scale for decades.
1:40.9	And when it has tried in recent years,
1:43.4	the cost of those nuclear plants and the time to build them has been extraordinary.
1:49.0	Take the example of the Vogel nuclear power plant in the US state of Georgia.
1:53.0	Its two newest units built in the last two years cost $37 billion, nearly three times the original cost.
2:01.6	Or take Hinkley Point C in the UK.
2:04.6	Its construction began in 2017 and was expected to be completed by 2025.
	...

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