US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm has called for more commercial nuclear power reactors to be built in the US and worldwide with the US alone needing to build 198 GW of capacity by 2050 – equivalent to around 177 large-scale nuclear plants the size of the recently commissioned Vogtle units in Georgia.

Speaking in Waynesboro, Georgia, where last month the second of two new nuclear reactors began commercial operation last month, Granholm said the US needs more reactors to produce electricity while reducing climate-changing carbon emissions.

Each of the two new AP1000 plants at Vogtle can power 500,000 homes and businesses without releasing any carbon, Granholm said.

“It is now time for others to follow their lead to reach our goal of getting to net zero by 2050,” Granholm said. “We have to at least triple our current nuclear capacity in this country.”