US Nuclear Energy Industry Poised to Power Up, but Bottlenecks Loom

An architectural rendering of Fermi America’s proposed 5,770-acre data center complex near Amarillo, Texas, illustrates its plans for 18 million-square-feet of AI data center development fueled by “the largest nuclear power complex in America” supported by “the nation’s biggest combined-cycle natural gas project, solar power, and battery storage.” Courtesy of Fermi AmericaTen companies are developing “first mover” nuclear energy innovations in breakneck bids to achieve “criticality” by July 4, 2026, to secure federal funding in advancing their technologies under an Energy Reactor Pilot Program authorized by President Donald Trump.“I doubt they will all make it,” Idaho National Laboratory Director John Wagner said. “But the thing that’s really exciting is that I do think three can make it, and the others will follow quickly thereafter.”