A Renaissance for Nuclear Energy in the United States

INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed Diana Furchtgott-Roth.
On a recent Price of Business, Host Kevin Price visited with Diana Furchtgott-Roth on the revival of nuclear energy in the US. After decades of being largely shunned, it has come back and is receiving widespread acceptance.
On May 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued four executive orders aimed at revitalizing U.S. nuclear energy. The directives call for reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), enforcing an 18‑month licensing timeline, and launching pilot reactors by July 2026. They aim to quadruple capacity to 400 GW by 2050, expand supply chains, promote advanced and small modular reactors (SMRs), and strengthen domestic uranium production
In Alabama, the long-operational Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan generates 1,800 MW—about 18% of the state’s power—and stands as a model of clean‑baseload reliability. Additionally, Tennessee Valley Authority’s Browns Ferry plant continues license extensions to serve the region sustainably.
In Pennsylvania, Three Mile Island Unit 1 is slated to restart in 2027 (a year ahead of schedule) thanks to a 20‑year PPA with Microsoft’s AI‑center operations. Renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center, it marks the first U.S. nuclear site revival, injecting 835 MW of carbon-free power investors..
Together, these developments—executive support, Alabama’s stable plants, and Three Mile Island rebirth—highlight a significant resurgence in nuclear support across the U.S.
Diana Furchtgott-Roth is director of the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment and the Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow in Energy and Environmental Policy at The Heritage Foundation. She is an Oxford-educated economist, a frequent guest on TV and radio shows, and a columnist for the Daily Telegraph. Diana worked in senior roles in the White House under Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. She has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation; Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the U.S. Department of Treasury; Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor; Chief of Staff of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; and Deputy Executive Secretary of the White House Domestic Policy Council. Diana is the author or coauthor of six books and hundreds of articles on economic policy, most recently United States Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality (Oxford University Press, 2021). She received degrees in economics from Swarthmore College and Oxford University.
Connect with Diana Furchtgott-Roth on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-fr/
X/Twitter: @DFR_Economics