At Utah summit, Energy Secretary Wright says ‘nuclear is going to become sexy again’

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright visited the Ames National Laboratory Aug. 14, 2025, joined by U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, left, and Sen. Joni Ernst, right, as well as other Republican lawmakers. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Friday “nuclear is going to become sexy again” and he sees Utah playing a part in a comeback as the nation tries to raise its energy output to feed demand from artificial intelligence. 

“We’re really going to see nuclear move again. Nuclear is going to become sexy again” Wright said, speaking by a video feed at Utah Sen. John Curtis’ Conservative Climate Summit in Salt Lake City.

Wright said tech companies operating large-scale data centers known as hyperscalers to power AI “really want to see nuclear happen,” and noted they’re investing in advancing nuclear technology.  

He said the country is making rapid progress in nuclear fusion, although experts have said the technology will not solve energy problems until the end of the decade or in the early 2030’s. 

President Donald Trump has signed executive orders this year intended to bring about a “nuclear renaissance,” and Wright used the same phrase Friday.  

“Utah absolutely is going to be a key part of that,” he said. 

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Utah Republicans, including Gov. Spencer Cox, share the desire to develop nuclear technology in the state, passing legislation creating governing bodies to advance nuclear systems, appropriating $10 million to fund Cox’s nuclear energy regulations through Operation Gigawatt, and making deals with nuclear innovators. 

Cox has said he envisions the state as a home to dozens of small modular reactors. In the last six months, the state has signed an agreement with a company owned by Bill Gates to explore a Utah site for a new nuclear reactor and announced a partnership with another firm to bring an advanced reactor to Emery County. 

Asked if the Emery County project will get off the ground, Curtis told reporters at his conference Friday, “I don’t think we have a choice of it being a reality, the demands for energy are so high, we have to figure this out.

Carmen Valdez, senior policy associate with HEAL Utah, said she has concerns about possible radiation exposure in communities near nuclear facilities, along with the years that could lapse between public investment and the day a reactor’s up and running.

“We are a little concerned about hearing ‘making nuclear sexy again,’ because there’s a lot of not great things that come with that industry that are just being brushed aside,” Valdez said.  

Wright emphasized the plan to raise the nation’s energy output includes keeping coal-fired power plants running. 

“I’m also super excited about next-generation geothermal, and frankly, Utah is the leader in that,” he said, referencing an enhanced geothermal plant being built in Beaver County.

Contributing: Alixel Cabrera