The US needs nuclear energy now, more than ever | Are permitting and regulations set up for rapid deployment?
Interchange Recharged
Wood Mackenzie
4.8 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 25 February 2025
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Former President Biden's final days in office involved signing an US$840 million energy contract with Constellation - a statement of intent for the US’s largest nuclear supplier. Since then, what’s changed with nuclear policy?
To find out, host Sylvia Leyva Martinez – a principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie – welcomes Maria Korsnick, President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute to the show.
Maria says that despite uncertainties, there's no reason large reactors couldn't achieve costs as low as US$60 to US$80 per megawatt-hour. Utilities are eyeing an additional 100GW of nuclear power by 2050 – driven in large part by demand from data centers and the tech giants. So how is the industry going to meet this demand? New technology? More permitting reform? More investment?
Join us as Maria reveals the industry's strategic momentum and the pivotal role nuclear plays in providing round-the-clock, highly reliable and cleaner energy. Engagement with both state and tech sectors could shift nuclear from perceived outsider to mainstream option.
Expect in-depth analysis on how the US is positioning itself to meet skyrocketing energy demands, especially from the ever-expanding tech sector.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Wood McKenzie's Solar Energy and Storage Summit is back in Denver on the 29th and 30th of April, |
| 0:06.2 | 2026. It's co-located with the brand new North American Power and Renewables Forum, |
| 0:11.9 | which features senior speakers from across the U.S. power sector. Come and join over 450 senior |
| 0:18.2 | leaders from U.S. power developers, utilities, and independent power producers |
| 0:23.3 | to tackle the industry's biggest challenges. From navigating life after tax credits to capturing |
| 0:29.7 | the load growth boom, discover how the energy mix is evolving and how the U.S. is going to meet |
| 0:34.9 | that power demand. Seats are limited, so register now at woodmack.com. |
| 0:41.1 | And I'm just going to be blunt. |
| 0:42.7 | The first one is likely not on time and it's likely not on budget. |
| 0:46.5 | They're not going to say that. I'm going to say it. |
| 0:49.1 | I see no reason why you can't get these large reactors in the zip code of $60 to $80 a megawatt hour. |
| 0:56.0 | I don't know, something in that range. |
| 0:57.8 | Today, we explore the future of nuclear. |
| 1:00.9 | I am Silvia Leva Martinez, principal analyst at Whitmak. |
| 1:04.1 | This is Interchange recharge. |
| 1:10.2 | The U.S. needs nuclear power now more than ever. |
| 1:13.6 | One of former President Biden's last acting office was to sign an $840 million |
| 1:20.6 | energy procurement contract with Constellation, the owner of the nation's largest nuclear fleet. |
| 1:30.8 | How far away is the new commercial nuclear capacity? |
| 1:35.6 | Small modular reactor projects face long permitting processes. |
| 1:39.9 | That's even if we assume the technology is ready to go. |
| 1:48.3 | Maria Korsnick is CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade association in Washington, D.C. We poll our members asking what their intentions are for nuclear. So they want to add 100 gigawatts of nuclear by 2050. |
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