We launched the United Coalition for Advanced Nuclear Power in 2022 for one reason. We saw the stark difference and pace of development between the United States and its adversaries for the deployment of new generations of nuclear power to meet exploding electrical demand. We believed at the time, and still believe, that the path to commercial expansion of the nuclear reactor fleet starts with the actions of federal agencies, starting with the Department of Defense, to collaborate on programs with industry to build reactors on public lands. We followed with proposed national strategies and Executive Orders to accelerate activities towards one goal – deploying more nuclear power to meet the Nation’s exploding gap between base-load supply and demand.

A recent article in Fortune Magazine highlights the catastrophic result of decades of stalled federal initiatives and misplaced energy investment priorities driven by politics over the needs of a population to keep the lights on while expanding economic prosperity. American cities’ power grids are so weak that some companies are just building their own power plants rather than relying on existing grids. The public is growing increasingly frustrated over increasing energy costs while energy companies prepare for a sea-change of surging demand. A Goldman Sachs report  frames the crisis simply: “AI’s insatiable power demand is outpacing the grid’s decade-long development cycles, creating a critical bottleneck.”  David Fishman, an expert on Chinese electricity markets, notes “U.S. policymakers should be hoping China stays a competitor and not an aggressor, because right now they can’t compete effectively on the energy infrastructure front.”

But progress is being made.  August 7, 2025 was a great day for our Nation’s energy security, when the Navy aggressively began pursuing innovative energy resilience solutions to power DOD installations using unique acquisition authorities and alternative financing/capital structures to deploy nuclear reactors on military bases. The bold solicitation to industry for execution-ready prototypes will modernize energy infrastructure, safeguard mission-critical operations and ensure uninterrupted power in any operating environment. The emphasis on powering high-demand datacenters highlights another national security imperative – ensuring generation capacity is capable of supporting data centers that power advanced artificial intelligence systems, which require substantially higher and continuous energy output than traditional facilities. The new approach gives the Navy the speed and flexibility needed to work directly with industry leaders, moving from concept to deployment faster than traditional acquisition methods allow. This is how we can deploy nuclear reactors at scale quickly with the support of private sector investment.

UCAN Power will continue advancing policy solutions and promoting programs such as these to expand investments and opportunities to bring vital nuclear power capacity to the American public.