nuclear power

When I first considered moving to San Luis Obispo, California, I learned of the nearby Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, and almost subscribed to a “not in my backyard” syndrome. But our power grids are strained by many things—including a computing revolution driven by artificial intelligence (AI), causing server stacks in data centers to consume […]

The road was long and the challenges difficult, but Plant Vogtle is now the largest nuclear power plant in the U.S., as Unit 4 was declared commercially operational on April 29. With four units now available, Plant Vogtle has the capacity to generate a total of about 4,664 MW of electricity. “The completion of the […]

Framatome and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to demonstrate the feasibility of producing non-carrier added lutetium-177, a medical isotope used for a variety of lifesaving cancer treatments, at the Wolsong nuclear power plant in South Korea. Under this MoU, Framatome and KHNP will jointly perform a technical […]

BGEN, one of the UK’s largest engineering firms, has been awarded an £84 million project by GE Steam Power Systems to provide electrical and instrumentation solutions to Hinkley Point C (HPC), which is a two-unit EPR nuclear power station under construction in Somerset, England. When complete, Hinkley Point C is expected to deliver 7% of […]

In the coming decade, the nuclear industry faces the daunting prospect of seeing one in four employees retire. According to the 2022 Global Energy Talent Index, 25% of its current workforce is over 55, compared to 20% in the oil and gas industry, and only 10% in the renewable energy sector. And, at age 65 […]

Molten salt reactors (MSRs) represent a fascinating intersection of nuclear history and modern innovation. The concept of using molten salts as both a coolant and fuel carrier dates back to the 1950s, with the pioneering work of Alvin Weinberg and his team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In 1965, ORNL successfully operated the Molten […]

Nuclear energy is surging back in a big way. Case in point: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s comments last week on plans to restart the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan. To bolster the effort, she announced a $1.5 billion conditional loan guarantee to cover work required to restart the plant after a two-year shutdown. And […]

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced a conditional commitment of up to $1.52 billion for a loan guarantee to Holtec Palisades LLC to finance the restoration and resumption of service of the Palisades Power Plant, an 800-MW nuclear generating station in Covert Township, Michigan (Figure 1). The project aims to bring […]

The UK government has ambitions for 24 GW of nuclear energy by 2050 to help in providing energy security for the UK and for meeting its net-zero goals. Among groups helping to revive and expand the UK’s nuclear industry is the University of Sheffield Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC), part of the High […]

There are literally dozens of small modular reactor (SMR) and microreactor designs being developed by different companies around the world, and some of the work has been going on for decades. Yet, only two