DOE's Julie Kozeracki on the Federal Role in US Nuclear Financing

Columbia Energy Exchange · Oct 20, 2026 · 51m · transcript

The US may finally, after years of trying, be on the cusp of a nuclear renaissance.

Commercial nuclear generation began in this country in 1958. Today, the US has 94 operating reactors, supplying roughly a fifth of the nation's electricity. But since 1996 only three new reactors have come online.

Now the picture is changing fast. In May 2025, President Trump signed four executive orders to speed up nuclear deployment; they include a goal to have ten new large reactors under construction by 2030. Nuclear startups have raised $4.6 billion this year alone. And with AI and data centers driving…