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…
Read MoreDOE 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…
Read MorePalisades 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…
Read MoreVattenfall 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…
Read MoreDebunking 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…
Read MoreAalo 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…
Read MorePowering 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…
Read MoreTVA 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…
Read MoreNuclear 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…
Read MoreDOE 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…
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