Costs, other factors complicate nuclear revival, ICF says

The United States’ increasing energy demand could be met through new reactors depending on factors from costs to public acceptance of nuclear power, based on an ICF International report.

The  March 27 report is available on the ICF website. ICF is a consulting and technology company based in Reston, Va.

With the growth of data centers, artificial intelligence and other manufacturing, the demand for electricity in the United States is projected to double or triple its use by 2028. President Donald Trump has signed a number of executive orders pushing for more domestic energy production.

In the report, ICF says that the U.S. nuclear industry has struggled to reduce its costs partly due to its large number of nuclear plant designs used across the nation. Each plant design requires its own construction, maintenance and workforce. Standardization is needed, according to ICF. 

“[T]he nuclear industry needs to pick a design and stick to it,” ICF said in the report. 

The timing of the next nuclear plant was viewed as a factor. As stated in the report, the Vogtle plant, Georgia Power’s four-unit plant based in Waynesboro, Ga, could have been the blueprint for large nuclear plants but there are no pending orders for that particular plant design.

As Unit 1 and Unit 2 were created in the late 1980s, many of the workers of Vogtle have moved on or retired, leaving it difficult for the industry to build upon the knowledge of the Vogtle plant, the report says. 

For small modular reactors, outside of China and Russia, no demonstration projects have been implemented. 

“The timing of the next nuclear plant also matters because buyers are looking for solutions today,” according to the ICF report. “The lack of readily available nuclear options will lead them to seek out alternatives,” like combined-cycle natural gas turbines with a carbon-capture and storage option, according to the ICF. 

Federal tax credits, such as investment tax credit and production tax credit, can have a large impact on the cost and potentially return on investment in nuclear energy. The report stated that the availability of an investment tax credit will be crucial to new nuclear plants, while production tax credits would be more ideal for nuclear plant restarts.

When it comes to nuclear fuel availability, the United States has received enriched uranium from Russia, as did many Western utilities. But in 2024 after Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States passed legislation banning imports of uranium from Russia. That ban is scheduled to take effect in 2028. .

The United States lacks any planned permanent geologic depository for nuclear waste following the cancellation of the Yucca Mountain project in Nevada. The situation was further outlined by a report from the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board in March.