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The Pros and Cons
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Don't let the PROS CON you!

Page Updated:
May 24, 2026

• Nuclear Industry News

Nuclear News Stories

Read the latest news stories on nuclear power

What went right - and what went WRONG?

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• Nuclear Plant
Accident Timeline

Events to Make You
Distrust Nuclear Power:

Read the BBC account of the varous nuclear accidents beginning in 1957.

Click now to learn more.

• • The US Nuclear Renaissance Comes With a $100B+ Price Tag

  Who Said This Renaissance Would Come Cheap
  
  {energy central}

  May 12, 2026 -Maintaining a fully homegrown US nuclear industry while meeting President Trump’s goal to 4X capacity by 2050 won’t be easy—it’ll require investments totaling $105–170B, McKinsey estimates.

  The firm says the country will be “severely challenged” in building out the entire supply chain, which includes conversion ($30–45B), fabrication ($10–20B), and enrichment ($30–40B). This means that the DOE's recent $2.7B award for enrichment is merely a drop in the radioactive bucket.

• • Wildfire Crews Race to Keep Fierce California
  Blaze From Former Nuclear Reactor Site

  Shifting Winds Placed a Former Nuclear Reactor and Rocket Testing Site in the Path of the Growing Sandy Fire

  

  May 19, 2026 -Her gray SUV packed and a fire-proof bag ready, Melissa Bumstead didn’t waste any time Monday as plumes of smoke engulfed the sky near her suburb.

  Most neighbors in West Hills—about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles—stayed put after only a voluntary “evacuation warning” was issued for the area. But not her.

• • Could Ohio Repeat the Mistakes Behind
  Its Largest Public Corruption Scandal?

  Ohio’s Nuclear Revival Plan is Giving Critics Flashbacks to the Massive HB 6 Corruption Scandal
  
  {energy central0}

  May 18, 2026 - A state House bill would let Ohio utilities build and own nuclear plants (again) under certain conditions. Its supporters claim that nuclear is too expensive and long-lived for private developers to finance it alone.

  The safeguard pitch: Utilities would need to lock down long-term power contracts. Only after those contracts expire could costs flow to other customers—and only if regulators decide the plant’s power is at or below market prices. But to critics, it’s just the same old song in a new key.

• • The Race to Develop American-Made Nuclear Fuel

  Two Companies Want to Revive the Atrophied Domestic Market For Enriched Uranium to Fuel Power Plants and the U.S. Arsenal
  
  {ENERGYWIRE}

  May 18, 2026 -Nuclear power companies and the U.S. government are approaching a cliff — a gradually emerging shortage of enriched uranium to fuel new reactors and the backbone of America’s military deterrence.

  Companies, with help from the Department of Energy, are racing to build factories and enrichment capabilities in an effort to stand up an industry that the United States abandoned at the end of the Cold War.

• • India to Shrink Zones Around Nuclear
  Reactors to Free Up Land

  India Agrees to Cut Nuclear Buffer Zones to 500M For Small Reactors, 700M For Large Reactors

  

  May 11, 2026 -India plans to reduce the size of exclusion zones around nuclear plants to free up significant amounts of land for reactor expansions, three officials familiar with the matter said, in a move to attract private investment that is likely to face backlash from opposition parties and the public.

  At present, all nuclear reactors in India have a minimum buffer of about 1 km (0.62 miles) around reactors where no habitation or economic activity is allowed, a provision meant to keep radiation risks at a distance.

  India's atomic energy regulator and the Department of Atomic Energy have approved an "in principle" plan to reduce these buffers, the three officials said. They requested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media.

• • The White House is Placing Big Bets on the US Nuclear Revival

  The DOE Could Soon Offer Loan Guarantees for a Coalition of Five to Six (mysterious) Utilities
  
  {energy central}

  May 9, 2026 -This tranche is separate from the $80B Westinghouse? deal with the Department of Commerce, which covers another 10 AP1000s. But the two efforts could eventually merge.

  On the fuel side: The National Nuclear Security Administration received 1.7 metric tons of HALEU from Japan—the biggest international uranium shipment in agency history. It’ll feed the DOE’s HALEU Availability Program and help close fuel gaps for advanced reactor developers.

• • Nuclear Reaches 41% of TVA’s Power Supply

  The Biggest US Public Power Provider is Feeling Bullish On Nuclear
  
  {energy central}

  May 6, 2026 -TVA’s nuclear fleet (one of the country’s largest) provided 41% of the utility’s power in the first half of 2026, up from 31% a year earlier. Interim CEO Mike Skaggs said that nuclear ranks high on TVA’s priority list, and it’s “a good investment to meet our future energy needs.”

• • The State of Play for US Nuclear in 2026

  The Trump Administration’s 400-GW Nuclear Goal is Looking Like Wishful Thinking
  
  {energy central}

  April 30, 2026 -A new Third Way assessment of 22 active US nuclear projects warns that the industry is essentially giving out “participation trophies"...while falling far behind the Trump administration’s goal of 4Xing capacity by 2050.

  By the numbers: Out of 22 analyzed projects, only half are intended for commercial use; of those, just seven have secured offtake commitments and two hold NRC construction permits. And if every active project and planned restart actually succeeds? The US would still stop 289 GW short of Trump’s target.

• • This Company Says Nuclear Fusion Could
  Finally Power the Grid — and Soon

  People in Costa Rica and Other Latin American, Asian and African Countries Are Increasingly Buying Electric Vehicles to Avoid Spiking Fuel Prices

  
  {CNN}

  April 30, 2026 -A Massachusetts-based fusion company took another step this week in its race to become the first to get the same power fueling the sun and stars onto the US electrical grid.

  Commonwealth Fusion Systems is currently building a donut-shaped machine called a tokamak — a chamber where atoms are smashed together in 100-million-degree plasma. The nuclear fusion reaction, forcing two atoms to merge, creates heat energy in the same way as the sun. It’s the polar opposite of conventional nuclear energy — a fission reaction that splits atoms. And it could be the key to unlocking nearly limitless power, all without long-lived nuclear waste or greenhouse gases that warm the planet. Fuel for fusion is abundant. It’s derived from deuterium, found in seawater, and tritium, which is extracted from lithium.

• • China Says It Can Now Build 50 Nuclear Reactors at Once

  What About the United States?
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 29, 2026 -China’s rapidly expanding nuclear program has entered a new phase.

  A new report from the China Nuclear Energy Association says the country now has the capacity to build up to 50 nuclear reactors simultaneously, spanning the full chain from design to construction.

  China currently operates 60 commercial nuclear reactors. Another 36 are actively under construction, representing half of all the new reactors on the planet.

  But they also did something else. They ordered record amounts of Chinese clean technology, seeking to hedge against other oil shocks in the future.

• • Fusion Energy Group Seeks PJM Connection
  For First Commercial Power Plant

  Commonwealth Fusion Systems is Now the First Fusion Developer to Brave a Major US Interconnection Queue
  
  {energy central}

  April 28, 2026 -Yesterday, Commonwealth announced it had applied to plug a 400-MW plant (the Fall Line Fusion Power Station) into PJM. The MA-based company plans to bring the plant online in VA’s Data Center Alley by the early 2030s.

  The details: CFS relies on a relatively small tokamak system powered by high-temp superconducting magnets, and its demo machine is currently about 75% complete. Backed by nearly $3B in capital, the developer has already secured Dominion Energy as a utility partner and inked offtake agreements with Google and Italian energy firm Eni.

• • Could Fusion Energy Soon Join the U.S. Power Grid?

  The Fusion Energy Start-Up Commonwealth Fusion Systems Aims to Bring Its First Power Plant Online By the early 2030s, but...

  
  

  April 28, 2026 -On Tuesday a fusion energy start-up announced that it has applied to join a U.S. power grid—a first that could one day see households and businesses powered by nuclear fusion.

  Commonwealth Fusion Systems is looking to join a power grid that is operated by PJM Interconnection and provides 182,000 megawatts of power to more than 67 million people living in 13 states and Washington, D.C. But technical hurdles to bringing fusion online remain—one major obstacle is actually producing a stable fusion reaction that generates more energy than it consumes.

• • The Trump Administration Keeps Moving to Sway Nuclear Rules.

  Nuclear’s Role in the Grid of the Future
  
  {energy central}

  April 21, 2026 -During his first Capitol Hill appearance, newly confirmed NRC Chair Ho Nieh shook off Democrats’ claims that White House mandates and staffing cuts are compromising the agency’s independence.

  The controversy: A proposed rule would allow the DOE or Pentagon to evaluate advanced reactor designs before developers even seek an NRC license. The NRC is also considering a plan that could reassign or eliminate up to 40% of the staff focused on plant safety—in favor of new reactor licensing.

• • Washington Keeps Working to Unclog the Nuclear Pipeline

  Nuclear’s Role in the Grid of the Future
  
  {energy central}

  April 14, 2026 -On the fission side, the NRC issued streamlined NEPA rules to support a broader efficiency push.

  On the fusion side, Inertia made a deal with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to commercialize the fledgling energy source. One of the biggest public-private partnerships in US national lab history, the partnership gives Inertia? access to nearly 200 fusion-related patents and direct collaboration with lab staff.

• • As Wars Throttle Gas, Japan Embraces Nuclear

  The Country is Rapidly Moving to Restart Reactors as Artificial Intelligence Increases Electricity Demand
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  April 14, 2026 -Fifteen years ago, this mountainous region on Japan’s northeast coast suffered one of the world’s worst nuclear power accidents.

  Abandoned homes, offices and shops still dot the landscape — remnants of the evacuation after an earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and released radiation. In the accident’s aftermath, nuclear power’s future seemed bleak, with Japan shutting off all its reactors as public opinion soured against the technology.

  But the country is now rapidly moving to restart nuclear power plants, as artificial intelligence increases electricity demand and foreign wars throttle natural gas supply. Japan relies on natural gas for 30 percent of its electricity, almost all of it imported. The Iran war has further helped the case for nuclear, which can displace some of the liquefied natural gas that is stuck in the Persian Gulf.

• • The Nuclear Revival Just Notched Two Milestones

  A Decade Ago, George Osborne Set Out in His Spending Review Plans For the UK to Be a Global Leader in a New Kind of Nuclear Technology: Small Modular Reactors
  
  {energy central}

  April 9, 2026 -In New Jersey, Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed legislation scrapping a de-facto ban on nuclear development (a permitting requirement that demanded a non-existent waste disposal method). Sherrill has also assembled a task force—including PSE&G, Holtec, labor, and environmental groups—to map out the Garden State’s nuclear future.

  In California, Antares Nuclear became the first firm of 10 in DOE’s reactor pilot program to receive approval for its documented safety analysis. The startup has already built its Mark-0 microreactor and plans to load fuel in the coming months, with electricity production targeted for next year.

• • What is Nuclear’s Role in Skyrocketing US Generation?

  Nuclear’s Role in the Grid of the Future
  
  {energy central}

  April 9, 2026 -EIA predicts generation growing 25-50% through 2050, with natural gas, solar, and wind projected to increasingly meet US power demand.

  As for nuclear? EIA’s modeling shows its generation share falling (moving from 17% today to 12-15% by 2050). Still, the EIA’s model relies on light water reactor economics and can’t yet capture SMRs, microreactors, or fusion…so perhaps Washington’s big ambitions won’t fizzle out.

• • Is the US Nuclear Push Headed in the Wrong Direction?

  Nuclear’s Role In the Grid of the Future
  
  {energy central}

  April 7, 2026 -We’ve got a shrinking window to become the first country to commercially recycle spent nuclear fuel, a new EIRP report argues. Currently, 94K mT of used fuel sits in storage across 30+ states…but EIRP noted that modern pyroprocessing could cut high-level waste volumes by over 80%.

  Meanwhile, the NRC has voted to phase out its agency-led mock attack inspections at operating reactors. After 2028, plants will run their own exercises under NRC observation. A safety advocate called it a “dog-and-pony show, akin to a professional wrestling match,” and found it worrying amid ongoing security threats to US infrastructure.

• • A New Oil Shock Accelerates a Return to Nuclear Power

  Shocks to Natural Gas Supplies Are Spurring Countries in Asia and Elsewhere to Rethink Their Rejection of Nuclear Energy After the 2011 Disaster in Fukushima, Japan

  
  

  April 6, 2026 -In 2011, a meltdown at a nuclear plant in Japan caused governments around the world, from Taiwan to Italy, to move decisively and swiftly away from atomic energy. Fifteen years later, a different kind of energy crisis is hastening a move back.

  The war in the Middle East is expected to cut the world off from millions of tons of liquefied natural gas, a fuel used extensively for power generation across Asia. Even in Europe and other regions with sustained access to gas, the diminishing supply of energy is causing prices to surge.

• • NRC Extends Operating License For
  California’s Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant

  The NRC Approved a 20-Year License Renewal For California’s Only Nuclear Plant
  
  {energy central}

  April 5, 2026 -PG&E’s 2.3-GW Diablo Canyon, which came online in 1985, contributes roughly 9% of CA’s total electricity and 20% of its emissions-free power.

  It was headed for retirement last year…before heat wave-driven blackouts and rising demand projections convinced Sacramento to keep it running. PG&E estimates the extension delivers $450M in annual benefits from avoided emissions alone.

• • Another Russia-Linked Nuclear Power Plant Is at Risk From War

  This Time, in Iran
  
  {BELLONA}

  April 4, 2026 -Russia has long been actively involved in Iran’s nuclear program. The largest project within this cooperation is the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. Construction of the first unit at the site began as early as 1975 by the West German company Kraftwerk Union, but was halted in 1979 following the Islamic Revolution. In 1995, Russia signed contracts to complete the unit using a VVER-1000 reactor and to supply nuclear fuel for the first ten years of its operation. Russia also committed to taking back spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing.

  The unit was connected to the grid in 2011 and entered commercial operation in 2013. A year later, a contract was signed for the construction of the second phase of the plant, consisting of two additional VVER-1000 units with a total cost of around $10 billion. Notably, according to TASS, the project has been fully financed by Iran without the use of Russian loans. At present, b>Rosatom is involved in the construction of the second unit at Bushehr, although the bulk of the work is being carried out by local contractors. Construction of the third unit has not yet officially begun.

• • Fusion Companies Partner For "More Shots On Goal"

  Two Fusion Powerhouses Are Partnering to Accelerate the Path Toward Commercial Scale-Up
  
  {energy central}

  April 2, 2026 -Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) announced it will develop high-temperature superconducting magnets for Realta Fusion’s demo prototypes and commercial fusion plants, which Realta aims to launch by the mid-2030s. The companies didn’t mention specific terms, but they said the deal could hit the multibillion-dollar neighborhood.

  CFS says its demo facility outside Boston is around 70% complete. The company is also constructing what it claims could be the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion plant in Virginia—where Google has already signed a PPA—with operations targeted for the early 2030s.

• • Four States Volunteer to Host Nuclear Complexes Including Waste

  Tennessee, Utah, Idaho, and Nebraska — Say They're Interested in Hosting the Entire Range of Nuclear Energy-Related Development, Including High-Level Waste
  
  {AXIOS}

  April 3, 2026 -The Energy Department hopes that by building what amount to nuclear mega-cities for such activities as uranium enrichment and fuel fabrication, states will have to address the thornier problem of waste as well.

  Driving the news: Two of the states that recently submitted publicly available applications to DOE, Idaho and Tennessee, already host department national laboratories that do extensive nuclear-related work.

• • Advancing Nuclear Energy for a 21st
  Century New England Electricity Grid

  All Six New England Governors Have Directed State Energy Agencies to Explore Advanced Nuclear Power
  
  {energy central}

  April 1, 2026 -Nuclear supplies a quarter of the region’s power, but officials want more of it. The governors directed agencies to explore financing structures, federal funding, public-private partnerships, and opt-in community siting frameworks.

  Texas is also leaning into the nuclear fervor. The Lone Star State announced it’s offering $350 million in advanced nuclear grants.

• • Governor Abbott, TANEO Boost Advanced Nuclear Construction

  Governor Abbott Signed House Bill 14 Into Law Which Established TANEO and Created the $350 Million Texas Advanced Nuclear Development Fund (TANDF)
  
  {Office of the Texas Governor}

  April 1, 2026 -Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office (TANEO) today opened applications to increase advanced nuclear construction, strengthen nuclear manufacturing capacity, and lead America's nuclear renaissance in the state of Texas.

  "To power the Texas of tomorrow, we must boost our state's advanced nuclear capacity," said Governor Abbott. "Nuclear energy provides an efficient and reliable energy solution while creating high-wage advanced manufacturing jobs. Through TANEO and the Texas Advanced Nuclear Development Fund, Texas is streamlining the nuclear regulatory environment and making investments to spur a flourishing nuclear energy ecosystem for generations to come."

• • The US Nuclear Supply Chain is Getting a Major Makeover

  Modernize, Digitize, and Expand: The ION Roadmap for the Next Generation of Nuclear
  
  {energy central}

  Mar. 30, 2026 - With a ban on Russian uranium imports taking full effect in 2028, speed is key to prevent significant nuclear supply chain gaps. The feds have committed $2.7B to enrichment expansion, but nothing comparable for conversion—and the US only has one uranium conversion facility, which dates back to the 1950s.

  The conversion race: Texas startup FluxPoint Energy, which recently debuted at CERAWeek, is planning the first new US uranium conversion facility in nearly seven decades. The modular Texas plant targets first production by 2030-31.

• • NASA Is Sending a Fleet of Helicopters to Mars On
  the First Ever Nuclear-Powered Interplanetary Spacecraft

  A Tiny Fleet of Martian Helicopters Will Hitch a Ride On a Revolutionary Nuclear Spacecraft
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  Mar. 25, 2026 -NASA is officially sending a fleet of robotic helicopters to Mars in 2028.

  The mission, called Skyfall, will deploy three advanced rotorcraft to scout future landing sites for human astronauts. But the Martian choppers aren’t the biggest news. To get this fleet to the Red Planet, NASA is resurrecting a technology it hasn’t used since the 1960s: nuclear fission.

• • States Are Lifting Bans On Nuclear Power

  Ten States Have Passed Or Are Weighing Repeals On Nuclear Construction Bans
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Mar. 25, 2026 -Changing tides: In the 1970s, California kicked off a wave of nuclear plant building bans that eventually spanned 16 states. Now, officials across the country are warming up to nuclear. Their motivation? Surging electricity demand from data centers, soaring oil & gas prices from the Iran war, and competition from China and Russia.

  Who’s on board: The growing movement includes Illinois, which scrapped its moratorium in January, and California, which introduced a repeal bill last month. MA, MN, NJ, and VT are also considering legislation.

• • Next-gen Nuclear Has a Chicken-and-Egg Problem

  Can the US Actually Achieve a Nuclear Revival?
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Mar. 22, 2026 -As energy demand surges, the US is backing multiple new reactor designs. The issue? They’re all competing for a small pool of skilled workers and limited equipment output. The solution? The industry needs to pick fewer horses with proven designs and simplified supply chains, the NSI report says.

  The winning pony: Westinghouse’s AP1000. It’s the only GW-scale design licensed, built, and operating in the US, and it comes with a well-established supply chain.

• • Japan Marks 15 Years Since Tsunami Disaster
  As Prime Minister Pushes More Nuclear Energy Use

  Japan Observed A Moment of Silence at 2:46 P.M., The Moment the Quake Occurred 15 Years Earlier
  
  {The Associated Press}
  
  

  Mar. 11, 2026 - Japan marked the 15th anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster on its northeastern coast Wednesday as the government pushes for more use of atomic energy.

  The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, ravaged parts of the region, caused more than 22,000 deaths and forced nearly half a million people to flee their homes, most of them due to tsunami damage.

• • Westinghouse Nuclear Reactor Plan
  Would Generate $1 Trillion in Economic Impact

  Westinghouse Claims a New Fleet of 10 AP1000 Reactors Would Add $1T to US GDP Over an 80-Year Lifespan
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Mar. 11, 2026 -Toward his goal to quadruple US nuclear capacity by 2050, President Donald Trump has commanded the DOE to build a fleet of large-scale reactors with an already certified design—AP1000s fit that order.

  By the numbers: During the 13-year construction phase, the reactors could already deliver major benefits: $93B in GDP and ~44K jobs annually, for instance, according to a Westinghouse-commissioned PwC report. After going online, they’d yield enough baseload power for 7.5M homes.

• • Upstate New York Communities Eye Nuclear Power

  Gov. Kathy Hochul Says a New Nuclear Power Plant Would Help NY State Meet Rising Electricity Demand

  
  

  Mar. 7, 2026 -Schuyler County in New York is home to a bucolic state park, an automobile race track and one day—if Judy McKinney Cherry has her way—a nuclear power plant.

  In summer 2025, Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the construction of an “advanced nuclear power plant,” and eight upstate communities, including Schuyler County, have expressed interest in hosting it. The New York Power Authority, a state-owned utility, would lead the project in partnership with developers.

• • A Nuclear Reactor Backed by Bill Gates
  Gets Federal Approval to Start Building

  TerraPower’s Wyoming Project, Which Uses Novel Technology, is the First New Commercial Reactor to Receive Federal Approval in Nearly a Decade

  
  

  Mar. 4, 2026 -A novel type of nuclear power plant in Wyoming backed by Bill Gates received a key federal permit on Wednesday, making it the first new U.S. commercial reactor in nearly a decade to receive clearance to begin construction.

  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal body that oversees reactor safety, unanimously voted to grant a construction permit to TerraPower, a start-up founded by Mr. Gates. TerraPower is one of several companies trying to build a new wave of smaller, advanced reactors meant to be easier to build than the large reactors of old.

• • Radioactive Waste from Nuclear Energy Lasts for 100,000 Years

  But Particle Accelerators Could Slash That Timeline to a Few Centuries

  
  

  Mar. 1, 2026 -Used nuclear fuel is one of the most persistent challenges facing nuclear energy. Long after a reactor stops using it, the material remains intensely radioactive, requiring cumbersome and expensive storage for tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years.

  Researchers are now exploring whether advanced physics tools could drastically shorten that timeline by transforming some of nuclear waste’s most hazardous components into materials that decay much faster.

• • Federal Nuclear Regulator Proposes
  New Regulations On Fusion Waste

  Trump Has Doubled Down On Nuclear Energy Even as it Has Lobbed Attacks Overall at Renewable Energy Efforts
  
  {POLITICO PRO}
  
  

  Feb. 25, 2026 -The Nuclear Regulator Commission on Wednesday said it would propose new regulations giving it regulatory responsibility to manage waste from fusion nuclear power generators.

  The new proposed rule comes as the Trump administration is doubling down on its nuclear energy efforts. Fusion power, long promised to be a cheap and clean form of nuclear energy, has made technological strides in recent years but remains far from becoming a commercial reality..

• • America’s Leaking Nuclear Coffin Is a Climate Time Bomb

  The Cold War Left Many Inglorious Legacies. The Runit Dome is a Good Example

  
  

  Feb. 24, 2026 -From the outside, it looks almost too unassuming: a perfect concrete disk, 377 feet (115) meters) wide, rising from the white sand. Locals from the Marshall Islands call it “The Tomb.” In fact, it’s a sarcophagus.

  Beneath the concrete cap there are more than 111,000 cubic yards of radioactive soil and debris. It’s lethal fallout from America’s Cold War nuclear testing program. Lethal amounts of plutonium-239, an isotope so toxic a speck can kill you and with a half-life of 24,100 years. The Tomb was America’s hasty solution to a permanent problem. It was built cheap, built fast, and built to fail.

• • The Four Meter Robot Building
  the World’s Largest Fusion Reactor

  A Giant Robot Preps the World's Most Complex Puzzle for Fusion

  
  

  Feb. 17, 2026 -For decades, nuclear fusion has been the “holy grail” of energy — a promise of clean, limitless power that always seems to be “twenty years away.”

  Nuclear fusion is the same process that fuels the stars, where hydrogen atoms are smashed together under such intense pressure that they fuse together. This process releases a gargantuan burst of energy with zero carbon emissions and no long-lived radioactive waste. To achieve this on Earth, scientists at ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) are building a magnetic cage designed to trap a “plasma” of hydrogen heated to 150 million degrees Celsius — ten times hotter than the core of the Sun.

• • Texas Becomes Leading Test Ground For Small Nuclear Reactors

  Texas Races to Become the Nation’s Testing Ground for SMRs, Backed By a New $350M Texas Nuclear Development Fund
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Feb. 16, 2026 -Multiple ventures are moving fast in TX: Natura Resources is building a molten salt research reactor at Abilene Christian University, X-energy is planning four 80 MW reactors at a Dow Chemical plant, and startup Aalo Atomics is designing truck-transportable 10 MW units for mass production.

  Despite the momentum, a University of Texas study warns that SMRs only become competitive if capital costs drop below $3M per MW—a steep target given current estimates range as high as $10.1M per MW.

• • Project Omega Comes Out of Stealth
  With Nuclear Batteries and Recycling

  Can Massachusetts Affordably Replace Fossil-Fuel Peakers For A Cheaper Combustion-Free Grid By 2050?
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Feb. 16, 2026 -Project Omega emerged from stealth with $12M in seed funding and a working prototype of a betavoltaic battery—a device that generates power directly from the radioactive decay of strontium-90, an isotope harvested from nuclear waste.

  The business logic: Sell the batteries first to generate cash flow, then scale up nuclear fuel recycling—a higher-volume but lower-margin market.

• • Fukushima Wild Boar Are Carrying Domestic
  Pig DNA Years After the Nuclear Disaster

  Escaped Farm Pigs Left a Lasting Legacy After the 2011 Nuclear Disaster

  
  

  Feb. 13, 2026 -More than a decade after the Fukushima nuclear accident forced a mass evacuation, the region remains a ghost town for humans. But when humans go away, wildlife comes right back in. Among the most successful new residents are wild boar—some of which carry the genetic fingerprints of domestic pigs left behind in the chaos.

  When the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, 160,000 people fled their homes. In the rush, livestock were abandoned. Some pigs escaped their pens (or were released) and wandered into the surrounding forests. There, they met their wild cousins.

• • How Next-Generation Nuclear Reactors
  Break Out of the 20th-Century Blueprint

  How Next-Generation Nuclear Reactors Break Out of the 20th-Century Blueprint

  
  

  Feb. 12, 2026 -Commercial nuclear reactors all work pretty much the same way. Atoms of a radioactive material split, emitting neutrons. Those bump into other atoms, splitting them and causing them to emit more neutrons, which bump into other atoms, continuing the chain reaction.

  That reaction gives off heat, which can be used directly or help turn water into steam, which spins a turbine and produces electricity. Today, such reactors typically use the same fuel (uranium) and coolant (water), and all are roughly the same size (massive). For decades, these giants have streamed electrons into power grids around the world. Their popularity surged in recent years as worries about climate change and energy independence drowned out concerns about meltdowns and radioactive waste. The problem is, building nuclear power plants is expensive and slow.

• • Nuclear Fusion Startup Raises $450
  Million to Make Power With Lasers

  Inertia Enterprises Has Raised $450M to Prove That Lasers—Not Magnets—Are the Future of Fusion Energy
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Feb. 11, 2026 -Co-founder Annie Kritcher was lead designer of the 2022 Lawrence Livermore breakthrough—the only fusion experiment that's ever produced net energy gain.

  To make it work at scale, Inertia plans to build 1,000 lasers firing 10X per second at tiny fuel pellets—a system they say could be 1 million times more powerful than Livermore's. Commercial plant construction is targeted for 2030.

• • Nuclear Startup Terrapower Is Moving Fast

  Some Say Too Fast
  
  {E&E NEWS}
  
  

  Feb 11, 2026 -The people of Kemmerer, Wyoming, braced for the worst when the owner of the town’s coal-fired power plant scheduled its closure in 2020. Jobs would disappear, along with tax revenue.

  Then came TerraPower, an advanced nuclear company based out of Bellevue, Washington, that needed a place to build. TerraPower pitched itself to local officials as future employment for the power plant workers about to lose their jobs.

  Instead of closing the power plant, its owner, PacifiCorp, is retrofitting it to burn natural gas. And TerraPower is charging ahead with plans to build the first small U.S. nuclear reactor of its kind close by, with the support of local officials in western Wyoming.

• • DOE Awards $19M to Advance SNF Recycling

  Office of Nuclear Energy is Investing $19M to Jumpstart a Domestic Nuclear Recycling Industry
  
  {energy central}
  
  

  Feb. 8, 2026 -The awards task five companies—Alpha Nur, Curio, Flibe, Oklo, and Shine—with developing tech that shrinks the nation’s waste stockpile while cutting reliance on foreign uranium.

  The projects range from recovering high-enriched uranium for SMRs (Alpha Nur) to optimizing molten salt pyroprocessing (Oklo) to developing modified PUREX methods that prevent plutonium from being weaponized (Shine).

• • DOE Prepares to Send Nuclear Waste Cross-Country

  A 180-Ton Lead and Steel Cask Containing Spent Nuclear Fuel Will Cross 13 States and Travel More Than 2,500 Miles
  
  {E&E News}
  
  

  Feb 5, 2026 -A rail journey years in the making will pull away from Dominion Energy’s North Anna nuclear plant in Virginia in the fall of 2027 bound for Idaho National Laboratory.

  Aboard a specially designed railcar will be a 180-ton lead and steel cask containing spent nuclear fuel. The trip crossing 13 states and traveling more than 2,500 miles will be the first shipment of spent nuclear fuel from commercial reactors in more than two decades.

• • The Fukushima Towns Frozen In Time:
  Nature Has Thrived Since the Nuclear Disaster

  But What Happens If Humans Return?

  
  

  Jan. 27, 2026, -Norio Kimura pauses to gaze through the dirt-flecked window of Kumamachi primary school in Fukushima. Inside, there are still textbooks lying on the desks, pencil cases are strewn across the floor; empty bento boxes that were never taken home.

  Along the corridor, shoes line the route the children took when they fled, some still in their indoor plimsolls, as their town was rocked by a magnitude-9 earthquake on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 which went on to cause the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chornobyl.

• • Fusion Breakthrough: One
  Step Closer to Solving Key Challenges

  Another Step Towards a
  Working Fusion Reactor
  
  

  Nov. 8, 2021 - In fusion power, two atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing vast amounts of energy in the process. The process takes place in a fusion reactor and, at least in theory, this energy can be harnessed; but the practical aspects are extremely challenging.

  An important problem for fusion reactors is maintaining the plasma core extremely hot (hotter than the surface of the sun), while also safely containing the plasma — something fusion researchers refer to as “core-edge integration”.

• • Is Thorium the Nuclear Answer?

  Thorium Nuclear Reactors
  Mentioned by Andrew Yang

  Dec. 23, 2019 (energycentral)- Andrew Yang mentioned Thorium Nuclear Reactors as one of the advanced nuclear fission reactor concepts. Yang has also talked about making a prototype thorium reactor by 2027. There is a US startup working on a Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor. If Flibe Energy was fully funded then they could build their planned 20-50 MW modular nuclear reactor by 2027. China also has an extensive molten salt and thorium reactor program. It is also possible to have more conventional reactors or pebble bed reactors adapted to use some thorium.

  Yang has proposed nuclear subsidy—$50 billion over five years. If there was that level of subsidy, then the other advanced nuclear projects would complete for it. There would be a lot of push for the molten salt reactors that use Uranium. The Thorcon molten salt reactor seems like a design that could scale to 100 GW per year of construction. In the rest of this article, I will review the status of the US, China and Indian Thorium reactor projects.

• • TerraPower: Nuclear Innovation
  (Striving to Improve the World)

  We Need Advanced Nuclear Now
  TeraPower Says It's Rready

  TeraPower-TerraPower’s founders entered the nuclear energy arena to meet growing electricity needs and lift billions out of poverty. Advanced reactors and other isotopic applications are now possible with technology and enhanced computing capabilities that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. TerraPower says that they are ready to build the clean energy of tomorrow - today.

  One of their founders, incidentally, is Bill Gates.

• •  The Hanford Nuclear Leak Is Irreparable  

  D.O.E. To Permanently
  Close Damaged Hanford Tank

  Jan. 2, 2018 - The Energy Department says it will permanently close a damaged radioactive waste storage tank on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

  The department says that Tank AY-102 has widespread damage and should not be repaired.

  Click now for more on this earthFix story.

• •  The U.S. Backs Off Nukes - But Not Georgia 

  The U.S. Backs Off Nuclear
  Power. Georgia Wants to
  Keep Building Reactors

  Aug. 31, 2017,  The New York Times - Even as the rest of the United States backs away from nuclear power, utilities in Georgia are pressing ahead with plans to build two huge reactors in the next five years — the only nuclear units still under construction nationwide.

• • Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon?

  Keeping Uranium Mining
  Out of the Grand Canyon

  The Grand Canyon is an irreplaceable natural treasure. Its stunning vistas, ancient geology, and winding Colorado River are world renowned — drawing over 5.5 million visitors to the park each year. Moreover, more than 40 million people and 4 million acres of farmland depend on the Colorado River for clean, safe water.

  Yet, irresponsibly operated uranium mines located on federal public land just miles from the North and South Rims threaten to permanently pollute the Grand Canyon landscape and the greater Colorado River.

• • What's the NRC Hiding on Palo Verde?

  Nuclear Leaks: The Back Story
  the NRC Doesn’t Want You to
  Know about Palo Verde

  June 14,2017 - One of two emergency diesel generators (EDGs) for the Unit 3 reactor at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generation Station in Arizona was severely damaged during a test run on December 15, 2016.

  The operating license issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) allowed the reactor to continue running for up to 10 days with one EDG out of service. Because the extensive damage required far longer than 10 days to repair, the owner asked the NRC for permission to continue operating Unit 3 for up to 62 days with only one EDG available. The NRC approved that request.

• • The USA's 10 Riskiest Nuclear Power Plants 

  Where Are They - And
  What Are the Dangers?

  March 18, 2011 - As we watch the continuing catastrophe in Japan unfold with no clear expectations of the outcome, one thing is for certain: The safety of nuclear power has become a hot topic of conversation. While some countries are shutting down plants, many other are reevaluating the safety of theirs and strategizing over future plans.

• • Ohio House Speaker Arrested for Bribery

  The Speaker and Four Others
  Were Attempting to Bail
  Out the Ohio Nuclear Industry

  July 21, 2020,(POWERGRID INTERNATIONAL)-The powerful Republican speaker of the Ohio House and four associates were arrested Tuesday in a $60 million federal bribery case connected to a taxpayer-funded bailout of Ohio’s two nuclear power plants.

  Hours after FBI agents raided Speaker Larry Householder’s farm, U.S. Attorney David DeVillers described the ploy as “likely the largest bribery scheme ever perpetrated against the state of Ohio.”

  Householder was one of the driving forces behind the nuclear plants’ financial rescue, which added a new fee to every electricity bill in the state and directed over $150 million a year through 2026 to the plants near Cleveland and Toledo.

• • Is The Energy of the Future Finally Here?

  World’s Largest Nuclear Fusion
  Experiment Clears Milestone

  July 24, 2019,(Scientific American) -A multination project to build a fusion reactor cleared a milestone yesterday and is now 6 ½ years away from “First Plasma,” officials announced.

  Yesterday, dignitaries attended a components handover ceremony at the construction site of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in southern France. The ITER project is an experiment aimed at reaching the next stage in the evolution of nuclear energy as a means of generating emissions-free electricity.

• • Old Nuke Plants Are Dragging Down Clean Energy

  Why America’s Old Nuclear
  Plants Could Be Dragging Down
  Clean Energy Development

  Apr. 25, 2017 -New York and Illinois are investing billions to keep old facilities in action, and Connecticut, New Jersey, and Ohio are among states contemplating the same idea. It’s an expensive process, though it does mean that new natural gas plants aren’t required to fill the gaps left by wind and solar.

• • Revisiting the Three Mile Island Meltdown 

  Documentary:Meltdown at Three
  Mile Island 40 Years Later

  EnergyCentral Mar. 28, 2019 -The Three Mile Island accident on March 28, 1979 is still considered the worst at a U.S. nuclear plant in history. Due to a series of human and technical errors, the core of the Unit Two reactor at TMI partially melted down.

  Though debated and controversial, research over the past 40 years concluded only a small amount of radiation escaped into the atmosphere and didn’t result in any deaths or injuries.

  This documentary details what happened inside the containment building at TMI on March 28: the chaos, confusion, miscommunication and fear in the area surrounding the plant afterwards and the legacy of TMI after the accident.

• • British Nuclear Project Becomes Messy

  Huge British Nuclear
  Project Becomes a
  Diplomatic Flash Point

  Aug. 15, 2016 -Once considered a vital part of Britain’s clean-energy future, the beleaguered Hinkley Point nuclear plant project looked further than ever from becoming reality this week as a row erupted between the three countries developing the massive facility: the U.K., France, and China.

• •  Does Fail-safe Nuclear Power Actually Exist?   

  Could We Actually Have
  Fail-safe Nuclear Power?

  Aug. 2, 2016 -The Shanghai Institute’s effort to develop molten-salt reactors, a technology that has sat all but forgotten in the United States for decades, reflects just how daring China’s nuclear ambitions are. Already, the government has invested some two billion Chinese renminbi ($300 million) over the last five years in molten-salt R&D. Building actual plants will require tens of billions more.

• •  Florida Power & Light Sued For Radio-Active Leak 

  Florida Nuclear
  Plant Operator Sued for
  Polluting Drinking Water

  July 15, 2016 -Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against Florida Power & Light Co., operator of the Turkey Point nuclear facility, saying that the company violated the Clean Water Act by discharging contaminants from the plant, impacting nearby drinking water.

  Click now to read the story
  (Hint: Bring your Geiger Counter).

• • The Protrusion of Confusion Over Fusion

  The Real Problem With
  Fusion Energy

  May 27, 2016 -The longstanding joke about fusion — that it’s the energy source of the future, and always will may not be the field’s biggest problem.

  Click now for what
  might be encouraging news.

• • All Things Nuclear

  Fukushima: Taking On the NRC

  Union of Concerned Scientists - If the Nuclear Regulatory Commission balks at implementing new safeguards in a reasonable time frame on the grounds that it does not have enough information about what happened in Japan, then the agency also cannot have enough information to relicense operating reactors or license new ones...

  More by clicking now.

• • Russia Criticized For Its Arctic Nuclear Activity

  Nuclear Security: Power
  Plants Are Poorly Protected
  Against Malicious Acts

  Oct. 10, 2017   Greenpeace - The nuclear power plants around us are “The Sword of Damocles” over our heads.

  A new report by independent experts, submitted to authorities in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg, questions security at French and Belgian nuclear facilities and points at their vulnerability to outside attacks. These experts are particularly concerned about a certain type of facility at nuclear plants: the spent fuel storage pools.

  These pools tend to contain the highest volume of radioactive matter in a nuclear plant and are very poorly protected. Rather than wait for the worst to happen, let’s address this issue and take action.

• • Dangers of Densely Packed Nuclear Waste Pools

  The Case for Moving U.S.
  Nuclear Fuel to Dry Storage

  Apr. 14, 2011   M.I.T. Technology Review - One of the lesser-noted facts of the Fukushima nuclear disaster—where loss of coolant in spent-fuel pools has resulted in massive radiation releases—is that some fuel at the plant was stored in so-called dry casks, and these casks survived the March 11 earthquake and tsunami intact.

  This fact is likely to result in new calls to move some spent fuel out of water pools at reactor sites in the United States—where it is packed more densely than the fuel in the stricken Japanese pools—and into outdoor dry casks, experts say.

  Worried? Click now to get radio-active.

• • Links Between Nuke Power and Weapons

  The Links Between Nuclear
  Power and Nuclear Weapons

  - Nuclear weapons and nuclear power share several common features. The long list of links includes their histories, similar technologies, skills, health and safety aspects, regulatory issues and radiological research and development. For example, the process of enriching uranium to make it into fuel for nuclear power stations is also used to make nuclear weapons. Plutonium is a by-product of the nuclear fuel cycle and is still used by some countries to make nuclear weapons.

  There is a danger that more nuclear power stations in the world could mean more nuclear weapons. Because countries like the UK are promoting the expansion of nuclear power, other countries are beginning to plan for their own nuclear power programs too. But there is always the danger that countries acquiring nuclear power technology may subvert its use to develop a nuclear weapons program.

  Click to read more from
  the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.