Nuclear energy is at near-record support in U.S.

And Trump's first 100 days in energy policy.

Happy Monday! This week marked the first 100 days of Trump’s energy policy, and I did a brief digest (though incomplete, given the breakneck pace of this administration) for American Experiment. The Iberian Peninsula also saw a historic blackout thanks to renewables, but many other Substack authors seem to have that topic covered.

I’m traveling for business this week, so I will likely have to skip the May 12 edition of Montalbano Mondays. As of next week, I’ll have been writing this Substack for one year, so if you enjoy reading this, I’d appreciate if you’d share Montalbano Mondays with others. Thank you for making the beginning of my weeks brighter!

A recent Gallup poll has found near-record support for nuclear energy as an electricity source. It would be common sense to repeal Minnesota’s ban on new nuclear power, but it doesn’t seem likely to happen this year.

The Gallup polling found that 61 percent of Americans strongly or somewhat favor the use of nuclear energy for electricity, only one point shy of the record high in 2010. The only year in which a majority of U.S. adults opposed nuclear energy was in 2016, “a time of relatively low gas prices (and therefore likely low consumer desire for energy relief).”

Gallup shows the partisan breakdown, with Republicans and Independents strongly favoring nuclear.

In the same polling, Gallup found that “Americans’ preference for renewable energy” has hit a new low since the question was first asked in 2011. While 56 percent of Americans still favor “alternative energy” (read: intermittent, weather-dependent wind and solar), 39 percent of Americans now prefer to emphasize oil, gas, and coal. That includes a record high of 79 percent of Republicans.

The most telling part of Gallup’s polling, however, is that “the availability and affordability of energy” is one of twelve issues that the public is least worried about. Still, 35 percent of Americans report worrying a “great deal” about energy availability and affordability. 36 percent worry “a fair amount,” 20 percent “only a little,” and 8 percent “not at all.” These concerns span across partisan lines. As American Experiment has repeatedly warned, many regional grids are at elevated risks of blackouts, and the grid in which Minnesota is a part, MISO, is looking at shortfalls under “normal peak conditions” beginning in 2025 because “resources additions are not keeping up with generator retirements and demand growth.” Americans should be worried.

Adding more nuclear power is supported across bipartisan lines. American Experiment’s Thinking Minnesota poll in spring 2025 showed support for more nuclear power in Minnesota has grown from 58 percent in September 2021 to 65 percent. As Bill Walsh wrote in the column, “Adding safe, clean nuclear power to Minnesota’s energy mix is one of the issues that could attract support from both parties in this year’s closely divided legislature.”

Legislation to lift Minnesota’s nuclear moratorium cleared the House energy committee in March, but it seems vanishingly unlikely that similar legislation would make it through the Senate. Better luck next year?

This piece was originally published by Center of the American Experiment on May 1, 2025.