DOE’s $2.7B for uranium enrichment is necessary, but it won’t solve the HALEU problem. The constraint was never technical capacity. It’s the absence of early, durable offtake. The U.S. can already produce HALEU at pilot scale. New piece www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/why-billio... 🔌💡

Ho Nieh was designated as the new Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. thebreakthrough.org/press/releas...

In nuclear safety, we spend too much time chasing statistical ghosts—deploying studies that cannot resolve risk instead of governing the risks that actually matter. Today, @thebulletin.org published my article with PJ Seel on this exact problem.

I had the opportunity to contribute to the issue "The New Atomic Era" In Vanguardia Dossier alongside many thoughtful writers. While I don't agree with everything, this issue covers a lot of topics all in one place.

The NRC independence is being debated. However, most don’t understand the nature of the NRC’s independence or statutory history. In short, the NRC has never been fully independent from other parts of government; instead, it is built on layers of independence and oversight 🔌💡

If the US really wants to expand nuclear to 400GW nationwide by 2050, the US must secure enrichment ~5x-10x of current domestic capacity. This new report explores the potential future US + global nuclear fuel supply chain needs, from uranium enrichment to mining.🧵

States are trying to figure out how to accelerate the deployment of new nuclear energy. A lot can be done to pre-screen sites, but states aren't sure where to start. This new resource solves that problem with clear, actionable data topics. thebreakthrough.org/issues/nucle...

An $80b partnership with Westinghouse, Cameco, Brookfield, and the US government to build nuclear reactors. This will help to finance new large reactor builds and largely saturate the AP1000 supply chain. The $ comes from an economic agreement with Japan. www.ft.com/content/e8a5...

Google and NextEra signed a 25-year agreement to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa. The 615 MW plant is expected to deliver power in 2029. The Palisades nuclear restart has created a pathway for other plants to follow. on.ft.com/47ujULo

DOE was directed to create a reactor pilot program in EO 14301. We recommend that the program be used as intended, specifically for prototyping and testing designs, to improve later commercial products. There are several challenges that need to be addressed. thebreakthrough.org/issues/nucle...

The NRC issued a license today to DISA Technologies to use its system to remediate abandoned uranium mines. This is a very positive step toward addressing mines that were improperly handled decades ago, mostly for weapons production.

I just received my copy

Palisades nuclear plant officially returned to operational status today after receiving appropriate approvals from the NRC. This is the first plant to officially transition from decommissioning status back to operational. Truly blazing a trail for other restarts to follow.

I was honored to be part of the planning committee for the recent @nationalacademies.org workshop Pathways for New Nuclear Deployment. There are new opportunities for building next-generation reactors to produce reliable, clean energy. However, significant, but solvable, barriers remain.

How do you make pie charts worse? By making them hexagons instead! Sorry EPRI, great report, but this is a chart crime.

A first PPA by a utility for power from a Gen IV nuclear plant was announced today. @kairospower.bsky.social will sell power to TVA for use by Google. The Hermes 2 project will change to a single reactor and increase to 50 MWe, operational in 2030. kairospower.com/external_upd...

Thanks to @kbrigham.bsky.social for letting me help with this article. There is a lot of optimism right now and announcements. Those announcements still have challenges ahead before they turn into reactors. The market should expect some to drop out, just like other sectors.

Ho Nieh is nominated to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Neih was the former Director of the NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and is currently working for Southern Company and INPO. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Commissioner Caputo resigned from the NRC a year before her term ends. This is a loss as her votes were substantive, and she was willing to identify issues that others were not and push for improvements, rather than simply accepting the status quo. thebreakthrough.org/press/releas...

🏗️Trilled to finally introduce ACTION, to accelerate nuclear energy deployment. It is a milestone-based program to address the root causes of project risk for advanced nuclear energy projects. 🔌💡

🚨New paper out on reconsidering the radiation protection model at the NRC. The paper discusses what science indicates, what it cannot demonstrate, and how policy is separate but informed by science. We recommend a pragmatic, tiered approach that aligns with other hazards. 🔌💡

Returning Palisades and a few other nuclear power plants to operation is technically feasible, the lowest possible environmental impact, the fastest path to clean firm power, and a regulatory pathway is being constructed. 🔌💡 www.eenews.net/articles/mot...

The projected date to finish the Construction Permit for the first TerraPower reactor is now the end of 2025, 8 months early. This demonstrates both the slack in the existing NRC process, and the potential to improve efficiency while not "cutting corners" on the technical review

Major changes were made to the NRC FY 2025 fee recovery rule to implement reduced fees for advanced reactors, based on our substantive comments and several others.

The Breakthrough Institute and Good Energy Collective support the renomination of David Wright to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/the-wright...

The NRC prevailed on the Interim Storage of spent fuel. The Supreme Court found that Texas and Fasken Land and Minerals did not meet the standard of an aggrieved party and overturned the decision of the 5th Circuit court.

Update since last night, David Wright was renominated. It's unlikely that the Senate could process his nomination before his term ends, which will lead to a gap. Typically, commissioners will wait on votes if a colleague is expected to return, slowing down the commission.

The unprecedented step to remove Commissioner Hanson from the NRC could upend the current bipartisan support for nuclear energy. A return to partisan polarization will almost certainly cripple efforts to make progress. thebreakthrough.org/press/releas...

The NRC accepted X-Energy's application for a construction permit for the first facility at Dow's Long Mott site. 18 months, 28,500 staff hours totalling $9.2M at $323/hr, and $1.3M in outside support. The review uses an environmental assessment instead of an EIS. www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2515/...

LNT and ALARA, two polarizing terms in nuclear energy. The NRC was tasked with reconsidering both the LNT radiation model and ALARA requirement by a recent executive order. But, many misunderstand what LNT and ALARA are, and what pragmatic evidence-based solutions are available 🔌💡

Meta purchases the output +30MW uprate of Clinton nuclear plant in IL from Constellation with a 20 year PPA starting in 2027. Previously slated for retirement for being barely more expensive than fossil generation, nuclear now gets a premium price. 🔌💡 www.wsj.com/business/ene...

As I said earlier, the nuclear plants were not the cause of the outage

The NRC published the Standard Design Approval for the NuScale US460 plant design, which uses up to 6 of the uprated 77 MWe modules. A standard design approval is primarily a safety evaluation for a generic design and can be referenced in site specific applications www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2512/...

Will Trump’s dreams of quadrupling U.S. nuclear capacity be fulfilled? It all depends on the project sites. @zeitlin.bsky.social and @kbrigham.bsky.social report, feat. @astein.bsky.social and @beazyrampezy.bsky.social.

Recent nuclear related executive orders are intended to drive change. There is some positive and negative. Some saying the quiet part out loud, acknowledging tradeoffs, and benefits to society. The key will be implementation and a broader strategy www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/can-trump-...

Four executive orders related to nuclear energy were signed today. There are a lot of good provisions that move toward the nation's original vision, for atomic energy to "make the maximum contribution" to benefit society. Short thread to come... thebreakthrough.org/press/releas...

Correcting seven misconceptions about building new nuclear energy. Some people are very entrenched on a few of these misconceptions. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/seven-more...

Would the end of the IRA credits end all hope of building new nuclear energy? Instead of hot takes, Deric Tilson and I walk through the substance behind this question. 🔌💡 www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/does-nucle...

Executive orders for nuclear energy are being considered www.npr.org/2025/05/09/n...

GE Hitachi receives approval to build the first BWRX-300 from the Province of Ontario and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) at the Darlington nuclear site in Ontario, Canada. vernova.is/3GVWrca

Kairos has started safety-related construction of their Hermes demonstration reactor! This is an important milestone for any nuclear energy facility. It is also an important milestone for advanced nuclear energy in the U.S. 🔌💡 kairospower.com/external_upd...

Google and Elementl team up to find 3 sites that each can support 600 MW of advanced nuclear power. This continues the trend of off-takers leading deployment and requires a different solution. Conventional wisdom won't always be useful. 🔌💡 subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...

TVA submitted an environmental report to support a NRC construction permit application for a GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. TVA requested a 24-month timeline 🔌💡 www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2511/...

This case raises important questions but misses the broader legal issues. It could also fragment nuclear energy regulation at the state level without achieving better efficiency. www.wired.com/story/nrc-la... by @mollytaft.com

Is this the moment for nuclear energy at the World Bank? Let's hope so. I had the opportunity to talk to Adva Saldinger about the issue in this informative article that includes many other experts. Here is one quote www.devex.com/news/is-this...

If you think that to build more nuclear power we need to just - abolish the NRC, build large light water reactors, or eliminate LNT - this article is for you! (Or you just like South Park... don't worry the post explains it) www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/nuclear-un...

Progress on abandoned uranium mine remediation! The NRC accepted an application for review for a new process to remediate inactive and abandoned mines from Disa Technologies with a 6-month review time. This is a potentially huge step for mine remediation, which has been stalled for decades. 🔌💡

A push for more coal mining and generation while blocking worker protections against black lung because it isn't 'deregulation' and cutting the workforce needed to review and finalize the rule. This is in who's best interest? subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...

Good article in why Amazon chose to partner with X-Energy and challenges that remain “If we want the power, we need to address the shortfall in the market, which is capital for development, licensing, and construction” www.latitudemedia.com/news/inside-...

The Small Modular Reactor episode just aired on Energy Switch @pbs.org I was honored to have the opportunity to help a wide audience understand advanced reactors. We covered a lot of topics in one episode. Thanks to Scott Tinker and Jose Reyes for a great discussion. 🔌💡 www.pbs.org/video/small-...