Thorium-based nuclear power, has the potential with few technical hurdles, to transform the energy landscape in the U.S. China and India have already pledged they would research Thorium nuclear power.
Thorium is more plentiful than uranium. Reactors that use Thorium would produce far less dangerous waste, and are able to consume existing nuclear "waste" as fuel. They would be designed to be much safer and simpler than any existing uranium-based light water reactor. Finally, the technology reduces the nuclear weapons proliferation risk by not breeding plutonium.
If Thorium based nuclear power gets going in a big way the only real use for traditional nuclear power, given the risks, will be for making weapons.