Trump II’s ‘Nuclear Renaissance”: A Government Play
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 4, 2026On January 26, the U.S. Department of Energy released the Fact Sheet, “The Energy Department Is Delivering on Accelerating the Deployment of Nuclear Power, subtitled “President Trump is Unleashing America’s Next Nuclear Renaissance.”
Nuclear Renaissance? Like that of Joe Biden? George W. Bush? Here is a summary of federal subsidies/initiatives for commercial nuclear power from the US Department of Energy (to date).
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS WORKING TO MAKE ENERGY MORE AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE INCLUDING ADVANCING NUCLEAR POWER
- The Trump administration is reversing the previous administration’s energy subtraction policies which made energy more expensive, and the grid less reliable.
- Under the Biden administration, electricity prices increased by 30%—13 times faster than the previous seven years.
- More than 100 gigawatts (GW) of firm reliable power were projected to retire by 2030.
“All renewable energy—driven by Climate Change Madness—has done for us is to make electricity more expensive. One example of that is the $318 billion in federal renewable subsidies taxpayers have paid for over the last 16 years.”
On May 26, 1285, Edward I of England commissioned Roger de Northwode, John de Cobbeham, and Henry le Galeys to investigate the use of “sea-coal” in lime kilns in London and its suburbs. The commission was driven by complaints “that whereas formerly the lime used to be burnt with wood, it is now burnt with sea-coal, whereby the air is infected and corrupted to the peril of those frequenting and dwelling in those parts” (Edward I, 1285, 207).
This was not the first time Edward and his family had dealt with what we know today simply as coal.…
Continue ReadingNuclear at 70: Federal Subsidies and Regulation Did Not Work
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 3, 2026“Nuclear fission is the most complicated, fraught, expensive way to boil water to produce steam to drive electrical turbines.”
What U.S. industry is at once the most subsidized and regulated by the federal government? The answer is commercial nuclear power. As a result, the 73-year-old “Atoms for Peace” program represents the most expensive failure (malinvestment) in US business. potholed with uncompleted projects and massive cost overruns with completed projects. Future decommissioning costs will add to this liability.
But hyperbole rules with this technology, and there is always tomorrow. Forget that competitive viability did not emerge in the 1950s or 1960s, and George W. Bush and Joe Biden both failed at their attempted “nuclear renaissance.” Expect the same to result from today’s interventionist energy policy.
A future post will outline the crash attempt by President Trump and DOE secretary Chris Wright to get new nuclear capacity on track.…
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