Nuclear

  • Two More UK AGR Nuclear Plants Get Further Lifetime Extensions

    EDF will extend the lifetimes of two UK nuclear power plants—Heysham 1 in Lancashire and Hartlepool in Teesside—by an additional 12 months to March 2028 in a bid to secure the country’s energy security as it faces a looming nuclear capacity cliff and heightened reliance on imported gas. The French-owned utility confirmed that 1.2-GW Heysham 1 in […]

  • TVA, ENTRA1 Sign Agreement for 6-GW, Six-Plant Nuclear SMR Collaboration

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will collaborate with ENTRA1 Energy—NuScale’s exclusive global strategic partner—to develop a 6-GW nuclear portfolio, including six ENTRA1 Energy power plants on TVA sites, the companies announced on Sept. 2. Under the agreement, ENTRA1 Energy will develop and own nuclear assets across TVA’s seven-state service region, selling electricity to the nation’s […]

  • Policy Shift, Private Sector Drive Put Nuclear Recycling Back on the Table

    Over nearly five decades, nuclear waste has been treated as an intractable problem, locked in dry casks, relegated to repositories that are slow to materialize, and generally viewed as a costly liability

  • Advancements in Steam Turbine Efficiency for Modern Power Generation: Reducing Costs and Emissions

    Steam turbine technology is not stagnant. Advanced designs are incorporating innovations in blade design, advanced materials, precision manufacturing, and high-energy steam cycles, delivering significant

  • How Advanced Monitoring and Early Warning Tools Are Revolutionizing Power Plant Cooling Water Intake Management

    Thermal power plants, nuclear and fossil-fueled, rely on cooling water intake structures (CWIS) to withdraw water for rejecting waste heat. The CWIS serves as a critical interface between engineered systems and the natural environment, making it vulnerable to various external factors such as biological growth, water chemistry changes, hydraulic forces, drifting debris, and meteorologic events. […]

  • TerraPower Eyes Utah for Second Commercial Natrium Reactor as AI Demand Reshapes Western Grid

    Nuclear innovation firm TerraPower has teamed with the Utah Office of Energy Development (OED) and Flagship Companies, a Salt Lake City-based land development firm, to explore siting a Natrium advanced nuclear reactor in Utah. The effort, which could mark the next phase of TerraPower’s expansion beyond its much-watched reactor demonstration project in Wyoming, has the […]

  • Constellation Outlines Nuclear Expansion Plans at Clinton Site as Meta Partnership Strengthens

    Constellation Energy is evaluating specific regulatory pathways to enable potential deployment of advanced nuclear reactors at its Clinton Clean Energy Center. The measure could mark the first concrete steps toward next-generation nuclear development at the Illinois site now that the competitive generator has finalized a landmark 20-year agreement with Meta. Constellation disclosed on Tuesday that […]

  • DOE Allocates Second Round of HALEU Fuel to Three U.S. Nuclear Companies

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled three more companies to which it will allocate high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) under conditional commitments in a bid to support advanced reactor development and domestic fuel production. The Aug. 26 announcement marks the second round of allocations under DOE’s HALEU Availability Program but it links to two […]

  • Palisades Nuclear Plant Moved to Operations Status, Ready to Receive Fuel

    Holtec International said the Palisades Power Plant, which was closed in 2022 and set for decommissioning, is now the first U.S. nuclear power plant to officially return to operations status. Holtec, which bought the Michigan-based plant to decommission it but instead decided the facility could be restarted, on August 25 said Palisades is now authorized […]

  • Vattenfall Narrows SMR Field to Two Finalists: GE Vernova’s BWRX-300 and Rolls-Royce SMR

    Swedish utility Vattenfall has narrowed its small modular reactor (SMR) supplier selection to two finalists—GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GVH’s) BWRX-300 and the Rolls-Royce SMR—for potential construction of new nuclear capacity adjacent to its Ringhals plant site on Sweden’s Värö Peninsula. The announcement represents a critical step in what could become Sweden’s first new nuclear build project in more than 40 years. While the utility ultimately intends […]

  • Debunking Nuclear Power’s Biggest Misconceptions and Why It’s Needed Today

    Despite nuclear power’s unmatched ability to produce reliable, carbon-free energy at scale, it is often dismissed by clean energy advocates in favor of renewable resources like wind and solar. Cost arguments and public misconceptions around safety and radioactive waste have kept it out of many mainstream climate strategies. But as Tim Gregory argues in his […]

  • Aalo Atomics Secures Capital, Regulatory Backing for 2026 Modular Nuclear Project at INL, Eyes Potential First Data Center Pairing

    Advanced nuclear firm Aalo Atomics has secured new capital and regulatory backing to complete construction of its 10-MWe Aalo-X reactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The project, recently selected under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) new Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, will demonstrate cold criticality by July 2026 in an unusually aggressive federal milestone for advanced […]

  • Powering the Data Center Future: Understanding the Resurgence of Nuclear

    With billions of dollars pouring into the sector from power players like Google and Amazon, the data center industry is having a moment. But this surge in investment and interest has also brought up serious questions—particularly around how we are going to power these massive computing engines. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, data […]

  • TVA Inks First U.S. Utility PPA for Gen IV Nuclear Power in Landmark Three-Way Deal with Google, Kairos

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has signed a first-of-its-kind power purchase agreement (PPA) with advanced nuclear technology firm Kairos Power to buy power from the company’s planned Hermes 2, a molten salt nuclear reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The deal makes TVA the first U.S. utility to contract for electricity from a Gen-IV reactor. Under […]

  • Nuclear Industry Ponders Risks of Building New Reactors

    Everybody is now jumping on the pro-nuclear bandwagon. With U.S. electricity demand ramping up due to the rapid build-out of energy-intensive data centers across the country, there is finally broad political and business support for dispatchable 24/7 nuclear power to help meet projected load growth and ensure overall grid reliability. The Trump White House, the […]

  • DOE Approves Fifth Loan Disbursement to Holtec for Historic Restart of Palisades Nuclear Plant

    The U.S. Department of Energy released an $83.2 million loan disbursement to Holtec International on Thursday, bringing total federal funding to $335.1 million as the company moves toward completing America’s first commercial nuclear reactor restart. The fifth installment under DOE’s $1.52 billion loan guarantee follows key Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)  approvals that authorized Holtec to […]

  • Trump Administration to Overhaul Drone Rules, Fast-Track Nuclear Reactor Deployment on the Moon

    The Trump administration has proposed new drone regulations that will eliminate case-by-case approval processes for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS)  operations, while Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy confirmed accelerated plans to deploy a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and […]

  • POWER Digest August 2025

    MHI to Supply Four Circulating Water Pumps for Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant in China. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) received an order for the supply of four circulating water pumps (CWP) for Units 5 and

  • One Big Beautiful Bill Act: What It Means to the Power Industry

    On July 4, 2025, President Trump officially signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) into law. The White House called it “a once-in-a-generation piece of legislation.” The power sector is among

  • Nuclear Power: A Critical Pillar for U.S. Economic Growth and National Security

    Nuclear power has emerged as a linchpin for U.S. goals for energy and national security. The nuclear sector has a long history of bipartisan support in the federal government.

  • Improving the Efficiency of Power Plant Cooling Ponds

    As electricity demand soars during summer heat waves, many power plants find themselves constrained by their ability to cool water efficiently for reuse. Innovative floating cooling technology is enabling

  • Hybridization of Power Generation

    Sponsored by:
    Siemens Energy

    The whitepaper discusses the integration of hybrid power plants in the energy sector, emphasizing their role in addressing the challenges of renewable energy integration. It highlights the importance of hybrid plants in meeting global energy demands by combining multiple power generation and storage strategies. The document outlines the benefits of flexibility, cost reduction, and emission control provided […]

  • Energy Allies: Communities and Utilities Building Resilience Together

    Sponsored by:
    Ameresco

    Extreme weather and aging grid infrastructure are causing longer, more frequent power outages—making energy resilience a growing priority for utilities and communities. This new resource features a range of strategies for strengthening local energy systems, with a focus on how strategic partnerships between municipalities and utilities are driving positive results. You’ll explore five case studies […]

  • Nuclear Developer Oklo Advances Dual Alliances Targeting Data Center and Industrial Power Needs

    Advanced nuclear technology company Oklo entered into two separate high-profile collaborative agreements this week that seek to supply integrated energy solutions to data centers and large load industrial operations. The alliances—one with Liberty Energy, an energy services and technologies firm, and another with critical digital infrastructure provider Vertiv—mark the newest notch in the growing market […]

  • Mirion Technologies Launches Vital Platform for Nuclear Industry

    Mirion Technologies, a leading provider of advanced radiation safety solutions, has announced the launch of the Vital Platform. This software offers a single, unified system for accessing data across nuclear power sites to work more efficiently, enhance worker safety, and solve operational challenges faster. The launch includes the platform’s first application, Vital Supervision, designed to […]

  • Nuclear at Sea: Navigating Regulatory Confluence

    A new paper titled “Facilitating Global Deployment of Floating Nuclear Power Plants” has been published by World Nuclear Association’s Cooperation in Reactor Design Evaluation and Licensing (CORDEL) Working Group. This paper highlights the benefits of the technology and focuses on progress made in the regulatory space, which is required for their international deployment. The pledged […]

  • Westinghouse, Radiant Selected for First Fueled Nuclear Microreactor Tests at INL’s DOME Facility

    Nuclear microreactors developed separately by Westinghouse and Radiant are poised to become the first fueled designs tested at the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) facility—the world’s first dedicated microreactor test bed slated to open at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in early 2026. The first fueled experiment is expected to begin as early as spring 2026. […]

  • Why Nuclear Maintenance Equipment Requires a Single-Source Solution

    There is no room for missteps, miscommunication, or misunderstandings when it comes to nuclear maintenance. It demands precision, speed, and accountability. The tools and systems used during outages must function flawlessly, because when they don’t, the cost is more than money—it’s exposure, downtime, and slipping maintenance schedules. Some nuclear plants use a segmented model for […]

  • Renewable Energy Surges, but Grid Crisis Looms as Demand Grows and Policies Shift

    The U.S. electric power sector is experiencing a surge in renewable energy deployment, yet the grid faces mounting pressure from skyrocketing demand and shifting federal policies. As data centers and

  • Taiwan’s Tech Industry Driving Country’s Energy Demand

    Taiwan is among several countries experiencing an energy crisis, with its supply of power struggling to keep up with demand from a rapidly growing high-tech sector. The country has long depended on imported