Think less electrons, more humans and rules. The Vogtle crews who relearned nuclear are off installing racks and cooling loops for data centers; Kansas and Michigan just built fences so big loads stop trampling everyone else’s bills; and campaigns rode rate anxiety to victory even though the levers that actually move prices are slow, unsexy, and stubborn. Here’s the tidy version.

Do we have the workers to build nuclear?

Short answer: not yet. The U.S. civilian nuclear industry directly employs about 70,000 people, supporting another 180,000–200,000 indirectly. But to hit the administration’s target of ten new reactors by 2030, the workforce would need to at least triple within the next decade.

At Vogtle, the last big project, construction peaked above 9,000 craft workers—for just two reactors. The same electricians, pipefitters, and welders who gained that experience are now wiring data centers and EV factories. Electricians alone are projected to outpace nearly every other trade in demand growth through the decade. In other words: we can finance nuclear, permit nuclear, even cheerlead nuclear—but we don’t currently have the people to build nuclear.

Without standardized designs, serial builds, and a coordinated training pipeline between unions, utilities, and EPCs, the “nuclear renaissance” will stay a slogan with no workforce to carry it out.

States put guardrails on hyperscale hookups

Kansas and Michigan approved large-load tariffs that make data centers and mega-manufacturers bring their own wallet: multi-year terms (12–15 years), up-to-five-year ramp periods, minimum bills around 80% of contracted demand, and “you trigger it, you buy it” for transmission upgrades. Kansas staff even expects these customers to pay 7–10% more than standard industrials. Delaware may require a certificate for >30 MW loads, with authority to force self-procured generation and firm network commitments. Net: fewer cross-subsidies, cleaner queues, calmer politics.

Rates, politics, and the reality check

Democrats surfed rate angst in VA/NJ/GA with promises to freeze hikes, make data centers “pay their share,” and sprint on new supply. Lovely, but bills mostly track fixed-cost recovery (poles, wires, hardening), fuel volatility, and long-deferred upgrades. Nuclear enjoys bipartisan vibes, but timelines are decade-long and labor is tight. Expect incremental relief from better rate design and hard-nosed large-load contracts; don’t expect your bill to melt because a podium said so.

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Conversation Starters

• RealClearEnergy — Make Nuclear Energy Great Again
  Why read: Deregulation isn’t deployment. You need a buyer, a banker, and a faster workflow: federal offtake, LPO/DPA finance, and a regulatory sandbox.

• Kansas City Star — Data centers aren’t your rate hike villain
  Why read: Fixed costs and the unwinding of old cross-subsidies explain more than the AI bogeyman. Handy ammo for the next rate-panic thread.

• NYT — How long does a nuclear “renaissance” actually take?
  Why read: Public support is up; China’s on repeat-build rails; the U.S. is still chasing welders, QA, and a supply chain. Timelines win or lose this story.

Good Bet: Large contractors with deep benches. The firms that can actually field and train electricians, linemen, and pipefitters are sitting on gold. Labor scarcity means higher utilization and fatter margins for anyone who can staff both data centers and energy projects without blinking.

Bad Bet: Utilities betting on shared interconnection costs. State commissions are tightening rules fast. Big loads will now pay their own way. Betting otherwise means eating those costs when regulators don’t let you pass them on.

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