By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday it has made an initial selection of 11 companies for a pilot program seeking to develop high-tech test nuclear reactors and get at least three of them to begin operating in less than a year.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

As artificial intelligence and data centers boost power demand, the U.S. is aiming to develop small nuclear reactors which developers say will be cheaper to build per Megawatt of output than today’s large reactors because the parts could be replicated in factories.

The department’s move comes after President Donald Trump issued executive orders in May seeking to speed permitting of nuclear reactors and reform the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an independent agency. The orders allow the Energ

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