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- Energy Secretary Chris Wright advocates for a nuclear energy "renaissance" amid rising U.S. demand.
- He emphasizes nuclear's safety improvements and potential cost-effectiveness in future energy needs.
- Sen. John Curtis supports an "all-of-the-above" energy approach.
SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a Salt Lake crowd it's time for a nuclear energy "renaissance" as the U.S. faces increased demand for energy amid an artificial intelligence arms race with China.
Wright said innovation has made nuclear energy significantly safer and further advancements will likely make small reactors cheaper and more accessible, while speaking at the 4th Conservative Climate Summit on Friday. He initially planned to address the several hundred attendees in person at the University of Utah's A. Ray Olpin Student Union, but joined virtually from Washington due to the federal government shutdown.
The U.S. will need to increase its energy capacity by about 100 gigawatts — or the amount of power needed to power about 750,000 homes — in the next five years to keep up with demand, Wright said, and he expects progress on nuclear power to accelerate to help meet that demand.
"I think we're about to turn that corner. We are going to see a nuclear renaissance. Utah absolutely is going to be a key part of that," he said. "Nuclear's going to become sexy again."
Utah is taking steps to bring nuclear power to the state, and Sen. John Curtis — who started the summit and a related Conservative Climate Caucus — said nuclear will be a key part of the state's "all-of-the-above" approach to energy.
"We need every electron we can get," he said during his closing keynote.
Curtis said the attendance at Friday's summit is a testament to the progress made to get Republicans more involved in responding to climate change.
"They're very suspicious," the senator told reporters. "And then by the end of the day they go, 'Oh, I get it.' And they realize that it's been a mistake for Republicans to not be engaged because we do — we care deeply about the Earth. We tend to talk about it differently. But I think the thing about this summit is it helps connects those two worlds and helps people realize both sides have a very important perspective."
While Wright touted the need to bring more power generation online, the Trump administration has focused on fossil fuels. The Republican-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act phases out tax credits for solar power investment and the White House recently canceled the largest solar project in the nation.
Curtis had pushed for those tax credits to continue earlier this year and said he has "concerns" about Trump's approach to renewable energy.
"If it were up to me, I would take off all the barriers," he told KSL.com. "I think if you take off all the barriers, what's going to win is affordable, reliable, clean (energy) — all three of those things I think are dominating the market."
Widespread nuclear power may still be several years off — both Curtis and Wright said regulatory hurdles and permitting have hindered development — but Wright said the federal government is focused on investment in the sector to ensure it gets off the ground.
"It will become cost-competitive," he said. "It won't right at the start — it needs some help, it needs some passion around it to get it moving — but there's no reason it can't be fully cost-competitive and one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, source of electricity generation 20 years from now. We've got to get that ball moving."
