America’s nuclear comeback is finally here

Guest essay by Jason Issac from the American Energy Institute

For decades, Washington treated nuclear energy like a relic of the past, something to manage, store, and apologize for rather than deploy and expand. That era is ending.

As electricity demand surges due to artificial intelligence, data centers, reshoring, manufacturing and population growth, the U.S. is rediscovering a basic truth: You cannot power a modern economy on hope, weather forecasts, and subsidies. You need dense, reliable, round-the-clock energy, and nuclear delivers exactly that.

What makes this moment different from illusory nuclear renaissances of the past is not lofty promises from politicians but innovation from the private sector. American companies are advancing technologies that do what federal programs never could, turning long-ignored liabilities into strategic assets.

Used nuclear fuel, treated for decades as untouchable waste, still contains more than 90 percent of its original energy. Yet the U.S. has stored more than 90,000 tons of it across dozens of sites, costing taxpayers close to $1 billion annually just to guard material that could be powering the country for generations.

Advanced fuel recycling changes that equation entirely. Instead of burying or warehousing used fuel, new processes can safely convert it into usable material for modern reactors. This is not speculative science or climate-era wishcasting. Countries like France have been recycling nuclear fuel for decades, delivering dependable electricity with strong safety records. The difference today is that American firms are developing approaches that are more efficient, more economical, and tailored to next-generation reactors, reclaiming U.S. leadership in a field we once defined.

The same logic applies to surplus Cold War plutonium. For years, Washington argued endlessly over how to dispose of it while spending billions to secure it. The smarter solution is to put it back to work. Repurposing surplus plutonium into advanced reactor fuel reduces a national security liability while producing domestic energy, skilled jobs and fuel made in America. The only way to truly eliminate unused plutonium is to consume it, not to entomb it.

This renewed seriousness around nuclear mirrors a broader shift underway at the Department of Energy. Under Energy Secretary Chris Wright, federal energy policy is moving back toward engineering reality and away from political fantasy. When the administration reinstated the National Coal Council, reversing its elimination under the Biden administration, Wright was blunt about the consequences of ignoring proven energy sources, calling the prior decision a product of “ignorance and arrogance.”

That critique extends beyond domestic policy. It applies directly to how the U.S. competes with China. While Washington spent years constraining its own power generation in the name of climate leadership, Beijing was building hundreds of gigawatts of new coal-fired generation, often commissioning plants over months rather than decades. Coal remains the backbone of China’s grid, supplying the dependable electricity that powers steel, cement, manufacturing, and the data centers behind its AI ambitions.

China understands something many Western policymakers ignored: Industrial dominance requires energy abundance. You cannot run an advanced economy, let alone a military or manufacturing base, on intermittent power and political agendas. Beijing’s aggressive coal buildout is not a contradiction of its climate rhetoric — it is an admission of reality.

Nuclear is America’s strategic answer. Advanced reactors, fueled by recycled material and surplus plutonium, can operate continuously, independent of weather and without reliance on foreign enrichment services. Some estimates suggest that reprocessing nuclear material could unlock energy equivalent to several times the reserves of major oil-producing nations. It is a competitive advantage hiding in plain sight.

This is about recognizing what actually keeps hospitals operating, factories producing, and data centers online. Nuclear, natural gas, and coal are indispensable tools for a country that intends to lead technologically and economically rather than outsource its energy security to adversaries and fragile supply chains.

The contrast with weather-dependent power could not be clearer. Wind and solar require vast land use, massive transmission buildout, and constant backup, yet still fail when demand is highest. Batteries offer minutes or hours at best, not days or weeks. Nuclear delivers power when it is needed most — during heat waves, cold snaps, and grid emergencies, without apology or excuse.

America’s nuclear comeback is not being driven by mandates, subsidies, or elitist rhetoric. It is being driven by reality. If the U.S. wants to out-innovate China, reshore industry, and maintain economic and geopolitical leadership, it must build energy systems grounded in physics, not politics. By unleashing private-sector nuclear development, expanding coal and natural gas generation, and rejecting the illusion that weather can replace reliable power, America has the opportunity to turn decades of energy mismanagement into a multi-generational advantage.

Originally Published in The Hill