Newsroom Archive

2022 was a big year for nuclear energy. The industry saw wins in public policy that will change the landscape of clean energy deployment in the U.S., as well as real progress in raising awareness of the value of nuclear energy among the climate, finance, and other key communities.

Statement from Maria Korsnick, president and chief executive officer of Nuclear Energy Institute.

This year saw many major world events. Against the background of geopolitical upheaval and climate despair, 2022 witnessed hope for climate, energy, and security stability. We saw five big themes emerge in 2022, and nuclear connects to every one of them.

Nuclear energy was central this year in conversations surrounding energy security, climate resilience, ESG, and the clean energy transition. As we look toward what the next year holds for our world and our communities, here are some of the articles that caught your attention this past year.

Few power plants allow pets onsite, but that number will grow in the coming years, as a new breed of dog is adopted by plant operators. Boston Dynamic’s “Spot” the dog has become world famous from viral videos of it doing everything from showing off its dance moves to training for the Iditarod. Last year, Spot joined the team at Duke Energy, and recently, it’s been helping the Oconee Nuclear Station safely perform inspections.

The holidays are coming up which means, for many of us, there are family dinners on the horizon. I don’t know about you, but my dinner table tends to be animated—filled with lots of laughter. But amid the lightheartedness, we also manage to talk about every hot button topic currently on America’s mind. This year, we’re seeing a combination of events centering nuclear energy as one of these topics. Here are some facts you can share.

We’ve seen ambitious carbon-free announcements during the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) of the United Nation’s (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change, hosted this year in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt—and carbon-free nuclear power has shown up as a key player.

The last time humans stepped foot on the Moon was in 1972, the final mission of NASA's historic Apollo space program. Today, nearly 50 years later, NASA launched Artemis I, the first in a series of missions with ambitious goals that nuclear energy will help achieve.

Today at COP27, members of NEI signed on to the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, dedicated providing the support, tools and partners that organizations need to meet their full electricity demand with carbon-free resources—every hour, every day, everywhere.

What is the common thread connecting more than two dozen state capitals this year? It was an incredible curiosity for reliable, carbon-free nuclear energy. The appetite for information is clear, and the Nuclear Energy Institute is publishing a menu of different proposals to help lawmakers support advanced reactor technology.

Nuclear plants, which produce reliable, carbon-free energy, were built to last and have a track record of safely operating during hurricanes and other extreme weather events.

According to a new report by the Center for ESG and Sustainability (CESG), nuclear energy is an investible ESG asset. It’s imperative that the financial community and rating agencies recognize nuclear energy’s strong performance within ESG frameworks, in order to drive some of the trillions in international investment dollars toward game-changing, sustainable nuclear energy.