Building a new nuclear reactor takes years, massive capital investment, and lengthy regulatory approvals. So the United States is increasingly pursuing a different path: squeezing more power out of plants already in operation by upgrading their internal components. The approach is known as an “uprate,” and by 2026 it has taken on industrial-scale proportions.
In March, the US Department of Energy launched the UPRISE program — Utility Power Reactor Incremental Scaling Effort — with a clear target: add 2.5 GW of nuclear capacity by 2027 and 5 GW by 2029. The plan involves increasing the output of existing reactors, restarting idled plants, and improving operational efficiency through advanced technologies, including new fuel types. The DOE has made available up to 80% financing for uprate projects, removing the main financial barrier for operators.
The numbers are significant. Since 2000, uprates approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have already added roughly 8.5 GW of electrical capacity to the US reactor fleet. Now the pace is picking up: the NRC has around 30 uprates planned before 2030, with a peak of 16 applications expected in 2027 alone. The most widely used technique is the Extended Power Uprate, which involves modifications to turbines, pumps, control systems, and safety analyses to unlock power margins that were previously untapped.
The private sector has moved in step. On October 6, 2026, Google and Constellation Energy signed a twenty-year agreement worth more than $4.3 billion to uprate 11 of Constellation’s nuclear units in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, adding a combined 890 MW of capacity. The extra power will feed into the PJM grid, which serves tens of millions of customers across the mid-Atlantic United States. It is the largest uprate deal ever struck between a nuclear operator and a technology company. Shortly before, in October, the Office of Energy Dominance Financing had granted Vistra a conditional loan commitment of up to $4.2 billion for uprates and modernization of the Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse, and Perry plants.
Driving this wave is the surging electricity demand from data centers, fueled by artificial intelligence. Major tech companies need power that is available around the clock, uninterrupted, and with near-zero carbon emissions. Existing nuclear plants meet all three requirements. Uprates are faster to complete than new reactors — often achievable within a single fuel reload cycle — and cost a fraction of a greenfield project. The federal government has also committed a $26.5 billion package to Southern Company, which includes 345 MW of uprates across six reactors at the Hatch, Vogtle, and Farley plants.
If the UPRISE program hits its targets, by 2029 the United States will have added to the grid the equivalent of five next-generation reactors — without building a single one. It is a bet on maintenance as a productive lever, and for now both public and private capital seem to be backing it.
