New Jersey just wrote new nuclear into law. The state signed legislation directing it to pursue at least one advanced reactor with a minimum capacity of 1,100 megawatts, a project analysts peg at roughly $15 billion. It’s a large public commitment to a technology that barely exists yet at commercial scale in the U.S.
What the law actually requires
The measure sets a floor, not a ceiling: one reactor, 1,100 MW or bigger. It doesn’t name a site or a builder, and it leaves the reactor design open, which is the whole point of the “advanced” label. The bet is that a firm order from a state will pull developers and their supply chains off the sidelines. New Jersey isn’t alone here; a wave of states has moved this year to legislate new nuclear as electricity demand climbs, and the country’s reactor order book has swelled past 70 gigawatts.
The gap between a law and a poured foundation
Passing a law is the easy part. Advanced reactors carry real first-of-a-kind risk. Vogtle’s two AP1000 units, the last big U.S. nuclear build, ran years late and billions over budget, and those used a licensed design. A 1,100-MW advanced unit has to clear NRC licensing, line up a supply chain that’s still forming, and find a workforce that hasn’t built a reactor from scratch in a generation.
The demand math is what makes states willing to take the risk anyway. The same load growth pushing developers toward projects like the Paducah AI Data Center Campus and its 4.6 GW of dedicated generation is pushing state governments to secure firm, round-the-clock power however they can. New Jersey decided a reactor is worth the wait. Whether the schedule and the budget cooperate is the question that will define the next decade of American nuclear.