I don't think it has to take that long to build these things. Having worked at several, I've seen many administrative hurdles.
It didn't used to take as long as it does today.
Yes, this is a frequent response. Perhaps we could build them faster, but most experts seem to disagree, as Gen III (and the still hypothetical Gen IV) reactors are completely different beasts and orders of magnitude more complex than the Gen I BWR like Monticello.
Worth noting that the last two attempts at building Gen III reactors in the US both were mothballed after a decade of construction, far from commission.
No one has built that kind of reactor in that time frame... not here, not in Europe, and even in China. Frankly I don’t want us rushing to build new plants based on new designs in record time... that’s a recipe for disaster.
Also important is construction is just the final step in the process. Each reactor design is unique, and that alone adds several years to the project.
I’ll reiterate - I’d love to see more nuclear power in our arsenal, and I worked as an analyst on two decommissioning projects. But it’s unrealistic to think we can just build them safer and faster and without opposition and with some untold funding source without serious consideration to how, exactly, we do that.