DOE launches UPRISE to boost nuclear capacity

The Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy has launched a new initiative to meet the government's goal of increasing U.S. nuclear energy capacity by boosting the power output of existing nuclear reactors through uprates and restarts and by completing stalled reactor projects.

UPRISE, the Utility Power Reactor Incremental Scaling Effort, managed by Idaho National Laboratory, is to "deliver immediate results that will accelerate nuclear power growth and foster innovation to address the nation's urgent energy needs," DOE-NE said in its announcement.

Expanding nuclear capacity: The initiative was established in response to President Trump's May 2025 executive orders to reinvigorate the U.S. nuclear industry with an emphasis on national security, economic growth, and energy dominance.

One of the objectives of those orders is to increase domestic nuclear capacity from 100 GW to 400 GW by 2050. UPRISE-which seeks to add 2.5 GW of additional nuclear capacity by 2027 and 5 GW by 2029-will focus on license renewals for existing reactors, restarting shuttered facilities, power uprates, and increasing efficiency with modern technologies as a means of reaching this goal, according to DOE-NE.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy Rian Bahran said, "This will be a resurgence for America's nuclear fleet. Through UPRISE, the department will work with industry to surpass the president's goal of 5 GW of domestic nuclear energy expansion by 2030."

Initially, UPRISE will take a "three-pronged approach" to examine supply-chain readiness, assess plant equipment for increased power output or upgrades, and validate economic models to support project investment decisions.

Power uprates approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can take three forms: measurement uncertainty recapture power uprates, which increase a reactor's licensed power level by less than 2 percent; stretch power uprates, which typically boost licensed power from 2 percent to 7 percent; and extended power uprates, which could increase licensed power by as much as 20 percent.

UPRISE will also be involved with streamlining regulatory processes and exploring workforce initiatives to support future nuclear deployments.

Workshops: As part of the UPRISE initiative, DOE-NE and the DOE's Office of Energy Dominance Financing are planning matchmaking workshops later this year to "facilitate collaborative agreements between nuclear power plant owners and end users." EDF has more than $289 billion in available loan authority, allowing it to provide as much as 80 percent of the financing for project costs associated with nuclear uprates, the DOE said.