Nuclear Power is Making a Global Comeback! Where is America At?

By Ronald Stein P.E., Steve Curtis, and Oliver Hemmers

December 31, 2025

Electricity is critical to the quality of life for every person in the world. In the United States, electricity is part of the foundation of our economy and our national security. Everyone in the US would be stressed without electricity, even by an outage of just a few minutes.

We need more nuclear electricity because electricity from nuclear power is the safest, cleanest, and most robust of all. It is also the least expensive in a free market system. We need it promptly, and we need a plan for that.

A good start would be a return to free-market principles in electricity markets. Monopoly utilities give customers no choice about where their electricity comes from. In fact, they don’t even call us customers; they just call us “ratepayers.” All ratepayers do is pay.

Here are some steps that would bring us closer to the new nuclear capacity that we need:

Let consumers choose nuclear. Customer choice is what guarantees the best innovation and invention, and the lowest price for all. This is what made America an economic powerhouse in the world and what customers want in the way they shop. Free enterprise is not just a good idea; it is the foundation of all advancement and affordability in the products we buy. Why can’t we, in America, choose electricity suppliers like we do phone service and gasoline suppliers?

BEFORE the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (1954-1977): 100+ reactors were built and safely operating during that 23-year period!

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is the largest roadblock to advancing nuclear power. It charges the industry $300 per staff hour to say “no.”

AFTER THE NRC (1977-2025): Only 2 Large Light-Water Commercial Construction Permits were issued over that 48-year period!

No member of the public has been harmed in seven decades of commercial nuclear operation in the United States. This is a safety record orders of magnitude better than any other industry. So, instead of massive restrictions and too many regulations for nuclear, maybe we need standards for all forms of electricity production. We need to enforce rational standards instead of using unwarranted regulations to artificially stop an industry that could produce the greatest benefits to the electricity customers.

The American government has spent $5 trillion, which comes to $15,000 per American citizen, on subsidizing electricity generation from wind turbines and solar panels, disrupting the very competition that could yield a secure supply and low costs. These government subsidies skew the markets and force ratepayers to pay for electricity that raises some producers’ profits but isn’t the best for the consumers. Like the markets for gasoline, phone service, and airline travel, electricity should be deregulated (opened to real competition) so prices could be slashed, and customer service could replace ratepayer control.

America is sitting on 90,000 tons of slightly used nuclear fuel (SUNF), with a value of about $100 trillion, enough to supply all the power needed in the United States for 270 years. At least 10 privately capitalized start-up businesses and several established nuclear power companies have explored fast reactor technologies that could use this fuel. But these reactors have had their license applications hopelessly delayed by the NRC, essentially denying them. Yet, our government wants to bury this material away “forever” in a “deep geological repository” at a cost of at least $400 billion, when the problem could be solved by private industry for less than the $50 billion that exists in the Nuclear Waste Fund collected from consumers.

The NRC and governments have NOT shown themselves capable of regulating the electricity system to benefit consumers or taking their promise to dispose of “nuclear waste” seriously. The electricity business should be turned over to the private sector; let the government establish standards and provide oversight, but then get out of the way. Then free enterprise can unleash the magic of innovation and invention.

No other solution seems to be working, and it probably will not get better until we realize the power of free enterprise. The difference between penny per kWh power and dollar per kWh power is the decision between free enterprise and government control. This difference could change the world.

No other source of electricity generation can compare with the cost, efficiency, safety, and small footprint of nuclear power, which is also continuous, uninterruptible, and emissions-free, especially if we allow fast reactor recycling of that vast amount of slightly used nuclear fuel (SUNF) in a free-market system.

Nuclear power is coming back, and it will be a miracle cure for the quality of life for all 8 billion people around the world. The only questions that remain are: Who will lead it, and who will follow, and when will it happen? It should be us in America, and soon, but not other countries.

Please share this information with teachers, students, and friends to encourage Energy Literacy conversations at the family dinner table.

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[BIO: Steve Curtis has a Master’s degree in Health Physics from UNLV. He has spent decades studying spent fuel issues in Nevada and worked as a technical field team leader for nuclear search and characterization missions for the Department of Energy. He is currently engaged in education, speaking, and writing in favor of nuclear power returning to the United States, especially from recycling spent nuclear fuel in fast reactors.]

[BIO: Oliver Hemmers has a Doctorate in Physics from the Institute of Radiation and Nuclear Physics at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. He was a Researcher in Physics, the Executive Director of UNLV’s Harry Reid Center and C- level executive.]