Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”, which the US president is expected to sign into law on 4 July, represents a pivotal moment for US energy policy and “cements nuclear energy as a foundational element in the nation’s future energy mix”, the Atlantic Council has said.

The US thinktank said that as artificial intelligence-driven electricity demand threatens to rise past 100 GW and accelerate exponentially during Trump’s second term, the bill underscores the urgency many Republicans feel to bolster US generation with dependable, dispatchable resources.

It said years of incremental, bipartisan support have matured into “formal policy momentum for nuclear”. By positioning nuclear as a central pillar, the US joins “a growing global consensus on its strategic value, particularly as energy systems become more complex”.

The thinktank said: “Within this framework, technologies such as natural gas, nuclear, and geothermal are not only strategic choices, but also reflect the United States’ comparative advantages.”