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Nuclear energy stocks soared after President Donald Trump signed a set of executive orders on Friday meant to accelerate the development of nuclear power reactors in the U.S. and revamp the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Share prices of nuclear power companies including Oklo (OKLO-4.48%) (OKLO), Nuscale (SMR-2.90%) (SMR), and Constellation Energy (CEG-2.56%) (CEG) rose sharply on Friday. For Oklo, shares increased nearly 30% to $51 earlier in the day. Nuscale, meanwhile, rose nearly 23% to $31.05 per share.
The four executive orders are expected to pave the way for the Department of Energy to install nuclear reactors on federal land, along with expanding uranium mining and enrichment in the U.S. The Trump administration also aims make it easier to build and operate nuclear reactors, with the NRC also tasked with reviewing nuclear reactor licenses in the next year and a half.
“The first tranche of [executive orders] relates to nuclear energy where President Trump is taking truly historic action to usher in the American nuclear renaissance,” Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told reporters in a call as reported by CBS News.
At the White House during the signing, Trump was flanked by the chief executives of nuclear energy companies including Joseph Dominguez of Constellation Energy and Scott Nolan of General Matter, NBC News reported.
Trump called nuclear energy “safe and clean,” adding, “It’s time for nuclear and we’re gonna do it very big.”
Nuclear has its hazards, including the environmental and humanitarian costs of uranium mining, but the energy source has still attracted bipartisan support lately; Democrats see nuclear plants as alternatives to fossil fuels, while Republicans favor it as a way to boost the U.S.’s energy independence, The New York Times reported.
Trump declared a “national energy emergency” at the onset of his second term, saying the U.S. lacked enough sources of electricity to meet its current needs. Nuclear power now provides about 18% of the country’s electricity, and only three reactors have been built in nearly three decades in what amounts to a sluggish process.