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New Jersey's electricity prices surged 33% from June 2023 to June 2025, pressuring developers to commit billions to nuclear projects with 10-year construction timelines while data centers need power within 24 months. Governor Mikie Sherrill signed legislation removing a de facto moratorium on new nuclear power that had existed for decades, clearing the regulatory path but not the fundamental timing mismatch between immediate demand and long-term supply. Nuclear developers gain regulatory optionality but face the reality that building nuclear plants costs $14-30 billion with no guarantee current price premiums will persist through commissioning.
The previous law required new nuclear facilities to provide an approved method of radioactive waste disposal before receiving build permits — but no such federally approved method exists in the United States, making new nuclear development legally impossible within New Jersey. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) — the federal authority that licenses all US nuclear plants — requires extensive safety protocols but permits on-site storage using methods that have a 100 percent effective safety record in the US. The new legislation aligns state permitting with federal standards, removing an impossible requirement while maintaining safety oversight. The newly formed Nuclear Task Force will focus on financing, supply chains and technology development, workforce growth and training, regulatory and permitting framework, and public trust and confidence.
Recent nuclear construction projects in the US have had overnight capital costs over $10,000 per kW — meaning a standard 1,000 MW plant requires $10 billion upfront, before financing costs. Georgia's Vogtle project ballooned from initial estimates of $14 billion to over $30 billion, illustrating the capital risk. Consider a developer evaluating New Jersey's Salem site: existing nuclear plants consistently operate at 90-95 percent capacity, generating reliable baseload revenue, but construction financing at current rates adds roughly 30% to total project costs over the build period. New nuclear plants take roughly a decade to construct, costing billions of dollars, while current electricity price spikes stem from immediate supply-demand imbalances that may resolve through grid interconnection or demand management long before new nuclear comes online.
On the buy side: Regional electricity purchasers — utilities serving the PJM grid that covers New Jersey and 12 other states — face capacity auction costs that have exploded in recent years, with $23 billion attributable to data centers. Large corporate buyers like hyperscalers are signing direct power purchase agreements to bypass volatile wholesale markets, but nuclear's 10-15 year development horizon misaligns with their 2-3 year infrastructure deployment cycles. On the sell side: PSEG—which operates New Jersey's existing nuclear plants—has expressed willingness to enable new nuclear development at its existing Salem County location, working with partners to leverage its Early Site Permit and operational expertise, but the company stopped short of committing its own capital to finance the projects. Nuclear developers must secure project financing before construction begins, competing with renewable projects that offer faster deployment and lower capital requirements.
For large integrated developers with access to federal loan guarantees and established nuclear expertise — companies like Westinghouse, Bechtel, or major utilities with nuclear operations — New Jersey's regulatory change creates genuine optionality value. The Salem site has grid interconnection, cooling water access, and regulatory precedent, reducing development risk. For smaller nuclear developers or financial investors without nuclear operating experience, the financing hurdle remains prohibitive even with regulatory clarity. Goldman Sachs projects electricity prices will rise an additional 6% through 2027, then slow to 3% in 2028 on lower natural gas prices. Observers should monitor PJM capacity auction results in May 2026, which will signal whether current price premiums justify nuclear's capital intensity, and track federal nuclear loan guarantee awards under the Department of Energy's renewed nuclear financing programs.
