nuclear power
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Nuclear
Curtiss-Wright Invests $30M to Expand Nuclear Instrumentation Manufacturing in Texas
Curtiss-Wright Corp. will invest $30 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Round Rock, Texas, to increase production capacity for pressure and temperature sensors used in commercial nuclear reactors and industrial applications. The investment is part of the company’s broader effort to expand its nuclear supply chain capabilities as existing reactors undergo modernization and new […]
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nuclear uprates
DOE Offers Constellation Up to $5B Loan for 1.1 GW of Nuclear Uprates at Eight Plants
The Department of Energy (DOE) has offered Constellation Energy a conditional loan commitment of up to $5 billion to finance nuclear power uprates and modernization at eight plants in Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The proposed investments could add nearly 1.1 GW of generating capacity to the nation’s existing nuclear fleet. The commitment marks the agency’s […]
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microreactors
Antares Secures BWXT Fuel Agreement, Advances DOE Review for Electricity-Producing Mark-1
Antares Nuclear has secured a multi-year agreement with BWX Technologies (BWXT) for advanced nuclear fuel fabrication and received initial Department of Energy (DOE) safety approval for its Mark-1 microreactor, advancing two key requirements for the company’s planned transition from reactor testing to electricity production and military deployments. The Torrance, California–based developer announced on Oct. 27 […]
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Nuclear
The Nuclear Company Proposes 6.6-GW AP1000 Nuclear Campus in Kentucky
The Nuclear Company (TNC) has unveiled plans to develop a 6.6-GW nuclear power campus in Lewis County, Kentucky, that could accommodate up to six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors along the Ohio River. The venture-backed developer said it has secured control of a proposed site and intends to pursue federal approvals to begin construction in 2028. The […]
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Nuclear
AEP, X-energy Eye 960-MW Nuclear Plant at Retired Indiana Coal Site, Backed by Amazon
American Electric Power (AEP) and X-energy have agreed to evaluate a 960-MW small modular reactor (SMR) project in Indiana, backed by Amazon development funding and a proposed long-term power purchase agreement designed to protect existing utility customers from project costs. The 12-reactor project would be the second deployment under Amazon and X-energy’s collaboration to develop […]
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Data Centers
Beyond the Demand Forecast: Six Questions About Powering Data Centers From DPX 2026
This year’s Data Center POWER eXchange (DPX), whose programming POWER’s editors curated, was structured to look beyond the scale of opportunity presented by large-load forecasts and delve into the questions they raise. A key focus: What will it take to deliver power infrastructure and data centers on timelines, terms, and operating conditions that both industries […]
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small modular reactors
Redesigning Steam Turbines for the SMR Era
Small modular reactors (SMRs) borrow steam turbine engineering from both coal-fired and nuclear plants, but the resulting “wet steam” problem, with exhaust moisture topping 15%, demands a fresh set of
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The POWER Interview
What Does Fleetwide AI Actually Mean for the U.S. Nuclear Industry?
Nuclear plants have accumulated decades of operating experience, technical research, regulatory guidance, and other industry knowledge. Finding the right information, however, can mean searching several separate systems and then piecing the relevant material together. To address that search burden, Atomic Canyon, a company developing artificial intelligence tools for the nuclear industry, built the Nuclear Industry […]
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Engineering
Saeul 3’s Nine-Year Nuclear Odyssey to Operation
Saeul 3 is the latest evolution of South Korea’s APR1400 program, completed after an extraordinary interruption in national nuclear policy, fortified during construction to address newer safety requirements
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Nuclear
Curio, NuScale, Framatome Join to Support Fuel Solution for Advanced Reactors
Three companies at the forefront of nuclear energy technology have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to evaluate fuel technologies to support advancement of next-generation nuclear power.
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Data Centers
Aalo, Crusoe Plan 2027 INL Demonstration Pairing Nuclear Power and AI Data Center Load
Advanced nuclear firm Aalo Atomics has formed a strategic partnership with energy-first AI infrastructure company Crusoe to develop a nuclear-powered “AI Factory” data center in a project that will combine Aalo’s advanced reactor development program at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) with Crusoe’s modular AI data center platform. The companies said on July 30 that under […]
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Data Centers
Blue Energy, GE Vernova Advance ‘Gas Bridge’ Model to Unlock Nuclear Finance
At a recent energy conference, power sector stakeholders agreed the looming fleet of hyperscale data centers will require vast amounts of clean, firm capacity. But while nuclear looks like the most plausible
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Commentary
The Grid, Not Just Generation, Has Become the Central Climate Story
For much of the past decade, the climate and energy debate has been fixated on how electricity is generated: which technologies are cheapest on paper, how renewables can scale fastest, which breakthrough is
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advanced nuclear
Valar Atomic’s Ward 250 Becomes Second Reactor to Go Critical Under DOE Pilot Program
Valar Atomics has achieved self-sustaining criticality and completed zero-power testing at Ward 250, its Gen IV tri-structural isotropic (TRISO)-fueled modular high-temperature gas reactor (HTGR), at the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab in Emery County. The project is the second advanced reactor to go critical under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Reactor Pilot Program and the first DOE-authorized […]
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Trends
Blykalla, Studsvik File for Up to 1.7 GW of New Swedish Nuclear Capacity as Government Proposes $3.7B Capital Commitment to Ringhals SMR Project
Sweden’s nuclear reversal marked three major developments this past week, as advanced modular reactor developer Blykalla and long-established nuclear services firm Studsvik filed separate applications for up to 1.7 GW of new reactors at two sites, while the government formalized an unprecedented financial commitment to another flagship project. The filings, among the first in Sweden’s […]
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Nuclear
Duke Energy’s Nuclear Playbook: Three Horizons, One Strategy
Duke Energy’s 11-unit nuclear fleet finished 2025 with a capacity factor greater than 97%—its best result on record. For Steven Capps, Duke’s senior vice president and Chief Nuclear Officer, that number is the foundation everything else has to sit on. “2025 was the best year we have had in terms of overall capacity factor for […]
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fusion
Fusion Won’t Replace Energy Policy
After the encouraging developments from last year and the news from fusion startups receiving funding, a familiar pattern is emerging across energy policy discussions in emerging and developing economies
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Nuclear
NRC Unveils Part 57: A Streamlined Path for High-Volume Microreactor Licensing
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed a sweeping new licensing framework designed to push microreactors out of the lab and onto the grid at unprecedented speed. The proposed rule, called Part 57, is paired with a broader agency overhaul that earlier this year created the Office of Advanced Reactors (OAR), headed by longtime […]
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Research and Development
Electron Beam Welding: Unlocking a New Era for Heavy Section Nuclear Components
For more than a decade, EPRI has been collaborating across the global supply chain to mature a technology that has the potential to fundamentally change how large nuclear components are manufactured. With the release of EPRI’s Quick Insights: Electron Beam Welding for Heavy Section Components, we now have a clear picture of how far electron […]
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Nuclear
Inside AMPERA’s Bet on Subcritical Thorium Microreactors
A Florida-based startup intends to build factory-produced nuclear systems designed to fit in shipping containers and run for 30 years without refueling. Here’s how the technology works—and where it stands. The global appetite for electricity is surging. Data centers, industrial electrification, and perhaps a coming wave of humanoid robotics are layering exponential demand onto a […]
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Commentary
Scaling Advanced Nuclear Power: Picking Winners Now
Across the U.S., more than 60 advanced reactor developers are innovating with billions of dollars in public and private capital to meet rapidly growing electricity demand. But innovation alone does not deliver power. If nuclear power is to be an essential source for exploding power demands across the nation, we must make a strategic choice: […]
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History
Chernobyl at 40: The World’s Worst Nuclear Power Accident and Where It Stands Now
On the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, POWER sent a freelance photographer and correspondent to the site in Ukraine to document the massive decommissioning effort still underway—and the new
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Commentary
America’s Once-in-a-Generation Energy Opportunity
America has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild its energy backbone. For the first time in decades, capital investment, technological innovation, and bipartisan political will are aligning to
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Nuclear
Russia’s Rosatom Will Continue Foreign Nuclear Power Plant Projects Despite UK Sanctions
Russia’s state-owned nuclear power group said it will move forward with its power plant projects in foreign countries despite new sanctions from the UK government against Russian companies.
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Finance
Southern Co. Lands Largest Loan in DOE History—$26.5B for Gas, Nuclear, and Grid Projects
The Department of Energy (DOE) has closed a $26.54 billion loan package—the largest single loan commitment in the agency’s history—with Southern Co. subsidiaries Georgia Power and Alabama Power to finance more than 16 GW of “firm” generation and more than 1,300 miles of transmission infrastructure and grid enhancement across the Southeast. The transaction, announced Feb. […]
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Commentary
A New Space Race—The U.S. Looks to Lunar Nuclear Power
Nuclear power is emerging as a key, enabling technology for sustained human presence on the moon. With multiple countries and companies announcing ambitious lunar programs—from space research to mineral development to hotels—there is increasing global competition to establish long-term power supply and other infrastructure on the lunar surface.
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Nuclear
Rolls-Royce SMR Taps Yokogawa to Supply Control Systems for Small Modular Reactor Fleet
Rolls-Royce SMR and Yokogawa Electric Corp. have announced a strategic agreement for the Japanese industrial automation specialist to deliver data processing and control systems (DPCS) for Rolls-Royce’s small modular reactor (SMR) program—a deal covering the first units in what both companies envision as a global SMR fleet. Under the agreement, Yokogawa will design, engineer, validate, […]
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Nuclear
The Nuclear Industry’s Race Against the Clock: EPRI Experts on Fleet Optimization, SMRs, and What’s Next
The electricity sector faces a timing problem that’s becoming impossible to ignore. Data centers, artificial intelligence (AI) deployment, industrial reshoring, and broader electrification are driving load growth at rates not seen in decades—and much of that new demand wants carbon-free, firm power. Nuclear checks those boxes. But can the industry deliver capacity fast enough? POWER […]
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Nuclear
Meta Locks In Up to 6.6 GW of Nuclear Power Through Deals with Vistra, Oklo, and TerraPower
In-Depth: Meta’s suite of three landmark agreements is poised to provide the financial certainty to extend aging plants, accelerate first-of-a-kind advanced reactor deployments, and relieve PJM’s tightening capacity constraints while establishing the hyperscaler as an anchor customer for a 6.6-GW corporate-backed nuclear fleet. In a stunning move that reinforces Big Tech’s growing role in underwriting […]
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News and Notes
POWER Digest [January 2026]
Vattenfall, Industrikraft Advance SMR Program at Ringhals in High-Stakes Deal. Swedish state utility Vattenfall and industrial consortium Industrikraft i Sverige AB signed an agreement, announced on Nov. 10