(Reuters) – The Trump administration on Wednesday said it would evaluate putting nuclear energy projects in federal waters as part of its agenda to expand domestic energy production and speed deployment of advanced nuclear technologies.
The Marine Minerals Administration, which oversees development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, said it signed an agreement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to coordinate oversight of potential offshore nuclear projects.
The announcement is the Interior Department’s latest in a string of moves aimed at opening federal waters to industrial activities, including space launches and mining, though it has sought aggressively to block development of offshore wind farms.
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The agencies said they would cooperate to respond to industry requests, though no commercial projects are planned.
U.S. President Donald Trump wants to quadruple U.S. nuclear power capacity by 2050 to meet power demands that are rising due to the expansion of data centers.
“Submerged reactor systems have been safely deployed in naval applications for decades, demonstrating their potential as a reliable source of energy in demanding marine environments,” MMA Acting Director Matt Giacona said in a statement.
The administration did not immediately respond to a question about whether the agencies would consider the national security implications of offshore nuclear plants. The Interior Department has cited national security concerns, such as radar interference, as a key reason for stalling the nation’s nascent offshore wind sector.
In separate announcements earlier this month, the agency proposed to lease 31 million acres off the coast of American Samoa for seabed mining and said it was considering the OCS for space launch and re-entry infrastructure.
The environmental group Center for Biological Diversity said the effort would harm U.S. oceans.
“The Trump administration seems to have a never-ending store of terrible ideas for mistreating ocean life, and nuclear reactors on rusty old oil platforms is one of its worst,” Nick Katkevich, an oceans campaigner at CBD, said in a statement.
The administration did not specify where the power plants might be located.
Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Aurora Ellis
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