Arizona's Sen. Gallego introduces bill aiming to speed up nuclear energy construction

Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego has introduced a bill that looks to make it easier to develop nuclear power plants.

It’s one of the latest moves signaling that nuclear energy has gotten a new look in recent years.

The goal of Gallego’s bill is to encourage developing new nuclear plants by reducing the risk of projects going over budget and taking too long to build.

“There's going to be some cost sharing burdened by the federal government for some of the initial plants to make sure that, again, we encourage the private sector to also invest," Gallego said.

As energy demands skyrocket largely from data centers and the AI boom, nuclear energy is being pushed by private businesses and elected officials in a way that hasn’t happened in decades. Last year, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at speeding up the production of nuclear power plants in the U.S.

And last year, Arizona’s three major utilities — SRP, APS and TEP — said they have started the process of finding new locations for potential nuclear plants.

"We want to get as much energy onto the grid as fast as possible. And if we can make it renewable, or at least clean, I think that'd be the best outcome," Gallego said.

Gallego says while renewable sources are important, nuclear can provide energy at large scales and produces no carbon emissions.

“If we don't actually keep up with energy demand, there will be a switch to more carbon-based energy production. Which will increase deaths across the country when it comes to, for example, lung disease and things of that nature," Gallego said.