Lawmakers on a House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee on Thursday discussed expanding nuclear energy to meet the growing power needs of artificial intelligence.
The Energy Subcommittee hearing is one of several that House Republicans have convened in the past months on powering AI data centers. GOP members have repeatedly emphasized the need for expanded fossil fuel and nuclear energy sources, which they deem more reliable than renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
Nuclear energy has won bipartisan support in recent years, and members from both parties questioned nuclear industry executives on ways to speed up nuclear construction and bring about new advancements in nuclear technology.
Democrats, meanwhile, slammed President Donald Trump’s budget request, which would cut the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy by around $408 million from its current funding levels of $1.7 billion. They also pointed to provisions within the GOP reconciliation megabill that would shorten the eligibility window for key nuclear tax incentives.
