News Archive

Wayne Glines, Health Physics News Contributing Editor

Remember the promise of a nuclear renaissance much discussed around the turn of the 20th century? The Energy Policy Act of 2005 offered economic incentives and subsidies that led to applications for construction and operation licenses for over 30 nuclear power plants (NPP) being submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 2007 to 2009. Concerns were raised over the need to develop sufficient nuclear engineering and radiation protection resources to support these new NPPs. However, for a variety of reasons (e.g., increased use of relatively cheap natural gas for power production, schedule delays and cost overruns, what to do with all that radioactive waste, and public concerns—e.g., Three Mile Island Unit 2, Chornobyl, Fukushima), this renaissance never materialized. To date the only new NPPs that have been completed and brought online in the United States are the Vogtle Units 3&4 (2023 and 2024 respectively).

So, is nuclear power and the need for skilled nuclear and radiation protection professionals in the United States gone? Not so fast. With the rapidly expanding need for energy to support the burgeoning digital data industry (e.g., artificial intelligence) and emphasis on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to counter growing climate change concerns, a nuclear resurgence may be on the horizon.

This nuclear resurgence is the topic of a recent World Nuclear News article. This article provides a link to a new, 15-minute documentary in which several advocates, including Michael Goff, Acting Assistant Secretary and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the US Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, discuss changes in perceptions and the current outlook for expansion of nuclear power.

Several examples of this nuclear resurgence in the United States have recently emerged:

• Microsoft Corporation has entered into an agreement with Constellation Energy to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 (shut down in 2019) and to purchase its entire generating output for the next 20 years to power new data centers.
• NextEra, owner of the Duane Arnold NPP in Palo, Iowa, is weighing bringing the facility back online to support energy-intensive data centers that have been built in Iowa.
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the design of the NuScale small modular reactor (SMR). Interest in SMRs remains high both in the United States and globally.
• The Department of Defense has broken ground at the Idaho National Laboratory for a demonstration project (Project Pele) for development of a transportable nuclear microreactor. BWXT Advanced Technologies, lead contractor for construction of the reactor, hopes to use its experience on this project to advance development of its civil-focused BANR microreactor.
• A nice summary of current and potential US nuclear power capability has been issued by the US Department of Energy.
• For the fusion enthusiasts, Helion Energy has reached an agreement to provide power from a fusion reactor to Microsoft Corporation by 2028.

Will this nuclear resurgence lead to a nuclear renaissance? Only time will tell. But perhaps it is once again time to encourage young, ambitious science/technology-oriented students and early career professionals to consider careers in the nuclear and radiological sciences. If they do, will US educational institutions be prepared to meet the demand? An indication of future needs may be found in the classified listings on the HPS website.