After years of predictions about a nuclear comeback, policy changes, private-sector commitments, reactor demonstrations, and new licensing milestones are beginning to turn the conversation into action.

For years, a U.S. “nuclear renaissance” has seemed to be perpetually just around the corner. Nuclear power has long offered an appealing combination: large amounts of reliable electricity with very low operational carbon emissions. Yet high construction costs, long development schedules, regulatory complexity, fuel-supply constraints, and difficult project economics have limited new U.S. construction.