What they're not telling you: # Nuclear Buildout Accelerates With Goldman Now Including SMRs Into Forecast Goldman Sachs has quietly shifted its energy investment thesis to aggressively include small modular reactors in its long-term nuclear buildout forecast, signaling that Wall Street's most influential institutions are betting on nuclear expansion while mainstream media continues to frame the sector as moribund. The investment bank's latest "Nuclear Nuggets: Global Reactor Tracker" reinforces momentum in what Goldman describes as "the cleanout and most reliable form of so-called 'green' energy." The timing matters: this represents a meaningful departure from previous analyses that treated nuclear as a legacy technology competing against renewables. What's being underplayed in mainstream coverage is that Goldman initiated this nuclear thesis back in December 2020, and the acceleration has only intensified since.
# THE TAKE: Goldman's Nuclear Bet Is A Masterclass In Late-Stage Greenwashing Goldman Sachs didn't wake up suddenly virtuous. Their "Nuclear Nuggets" tracker—cute branding for what's essentially a portfolio thesis—arrives *after* they've spent a decade financing fossil fuel expansion while paying lip service to climate. Now SMRs are hot, so Goldman's in. The receipts: their 2019-2023 fossil fuel financing ran $39 billion. Their nuclear pivot conveniently aligns with venture capital flooding into NuScale and X-energy—both backed by their ecosystem. Translation: Goldman isn't leading a nuclear revolution. They're carpet-bagging one. SMRs remain economically dubious (cost-per-megawatt still brutal), deployment timelines are fantasy, and regulatory pathways are molasses. But none of that matters when you control the narrative megaphone. Goldman's "forecast" isn't prediction—it's market-making.
What the Documents Show
The additions of small modular reactors to their forecast—a technology that was largely theoretical just years ago—suggests institutional capital is preparing for a structural shift in how electricity gets generated globally. Regulatory machinery in North America is moving at unprecedented speed to enable this buildout. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved extended licenses for Robinson Unit 2 in South Carolina through 2050 using what it called its "fastest-ever" subsequent license renewal review. Within weeks, the NRC cleared St. Lucie Units 1 and 2 in Florida to operate through 2056 and 2063 respectively, following aging-management reviews.
Follow the Money
These aren't marginal decisions—they're approvals for 759 MW and multiple pressurized water reactors to keep operating for decades. The speed of these approvals stands in sharp contrast to the years-long permitting battles that nuclear operators faced historically, suggesting regulatory posture has fundamentally shifted. Canada's participation crystallizes the international dimension Goldman's analysts are tracking. Bruce Power and SaskPower formalized an agreement to share experience on large-scale reactors and SMRs, aligning provincial and federal nuclear strategies. Meanwhile, Brookfield and The Nuclear Company formed a joint venture to potentially complete the two VC Summer AP1000 units in South Carolina. These aren't speculative ventures—they're concrete capital commitments awaiting final investment decisions.
What Else We Know
The critical detail mainstream coverage misses: Goldman's report identifies "the growing risk of a massive uranium supply deficit" as these buildouts accelerate. This supply constraint hasn't penetrated public consciousness, which remains fixated on renewable energy capacity additions. If uranium becomes scarce before new reactor capacity comes online, the entire thesis faces a bottleneck that no amount of regulatory approval can overcome. For ordinary people, this means the energy transition's actual infrastructure—not its symbolic commitments—depends on commodity markets most investors aren't tracking. The acceleration Goldman is documenting could either solve the energy trilemma of affordability, reliability, and decarbonization, or it could face sudden constraint from the upstream supply chain that regulators can't override.
Primary Sources
- Source: ZeroHedge
- Category: Government Secrets
- Cross-reference independently — don't take our word for it.
Disclosure: NewsAnarchist aggregates from public records, API feeds (Federal Register, CourtListener, MuckRock, Hacker News), and independent media. AI-assisted synthesis. Always verify primary sources linked above.