While the United States talks a big game about its nuclear renaissance, Asia is actually building the darn things. The numbers don’t lie. America’s running about 94 reactors in 2024, a respectable fleet, sure—but Asia? They’re cranking out new plants like they’re going out of style.
Look at the capacity. The U.S. sits at roughly 100 gigawatts while the global total surges toward 376 GW by late 2025. Guess who’s driving that growth? Not us. Asian nations are commissioning multiple large reactors while America’s been stuck in paperwork hell for years. Our strategy? Mostly extending licenses on aging plants. Real ambitious.
America talks big about nuclear while Asia builds. We polish paperwork, they commission reactors.
The U.S. finally woke up in 2025 with fancy executive actions promising to quadruple capacity to 400 GW by 2050. Great goal! But where’s the action? Meanwhile, Asian governments are combining clear national strategies, state financing, and streamlined regulations to actually get stuff done.
Our licensing process is a nightmare. The NRC moves at the speed of continental drift while some Asian regulators practically approve projects overnight.
And don’t get me started on costs. U.S. nuclear projects hemorrhage money while standardized Asian designs with vertical supply chains build faster and cheaper.
Congress threw some billions at the problem—fuel supply, demonstrations, tax incentives. Nice gesture. But compare that to the thorough state-backed financing in Asia. No contest.
The private sector is making noise, with interest in nearly 30 GW of projects. That’s something, at least. But “interest” doesn’t build reactors.
Over 25 states are pushing pro-nuclear policies now. Progress! Except it’s created this patchwork approach where some states race ahead while others do zilch. Pressurized water reactors dominate with 60% market share in 2024, but that doesn’t mean much if we can’t build new ones.
America’s nuclear market is projected to grow at a sleepy 1.9% annual rate through 2034. At this pace, our “revival” will look more like a gentle nudge while Asia’s nuclear industry sprints ahead at breakneck speed.
Despite generating 779 TWh in 2023, which accounts for nearly 20% of our electricity, America’s nuclear expansion efforts have fallen far behind our ambitious goals.
References
- https://www.statifacts.com/outlook/us-nuclear-power-market
- https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-t-z/usa-nuclear-power
- https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/government-public-sector-services/us-states-advanced-nuclear-power.html
- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/16/support-for-expanding-nuclear-power-is-up-in-both-parties-since-2020/
- https://www.nei.org/news/2025/state-of-the-nuclear-energy-industry-2025
- https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-nuclear-energy-stories-watch-2025
- https://www.eia.gov/nuclear/generation/
- http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/six-global-trends-in-nuclear-power-you-should-know
