If you’ve turned on the news, opened a newspaper, or scrolled on the internet in the last few months, odds are you’ve seen something in the news about nuclear energy. There may have been too much for you to even keep up. With that in mind, we wanted to give you some updates on what’s going on.
National News
Two of the big stories nationally were around modernization of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the windfall of funding coming into the industry. On the heels of the bipartisan ADVANCE Act and the slew of Executive Orders that the President signed in 2025, the NRC is pushing ahead with modernization. Commissioner Ho K. Nieh said a September POWER Magazine piece, “T Regulation must keep pace. That does not mean lowering the bar for safety. It means making sure the regulatory framework is clear, credible, and grounded in the best available science and decades of operating experience. That principle is at the heart of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed modernization of its radiation protection framework.”
There’s also been a lot of news around nuclear financing, from investments from the government to realizing how inexpensive nuclear can be. We’ve got even more at the bottom of this page.
- NRC Proposes Landmark Reactor Licensing Overhaul, Bundling Decades of Modernization Into One Rule (POWER)
- Nuclear energy startup funding is heating up (Axios)
- Modern Regulation for a New Nuclear Era (POWER)
- Nuclear Is Cheaper Than We Think It Is (Heatmap News)
- Trump’s Plans for Nuclear Power Lurch Ahead (New York Times)
- US Army awards up to $2.2 billion to five companies to build microreactors on bases (Reuters)
- Trying to Get Away From Gas Turbines, Data Centers Place Their Hopes on Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (Inside Climate News)
- Map Shows New Nuclear Reactors Being Built Across the US (Newsweek)
- With federal funding windfall, X-energy advances small nuclear reactor (Canary)
- Senate considers establishing $50B nuclear energy campuses (The Center Square)
Scoping out the States
There’s always more going on in the states than one could possibly track on their own. After all, there are 50 of them. Fortunately, we are monitoring them, so you don’t have to.
The Department of Energy narrowed potential sites for their Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus from 28 options down to five: Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Idaho. Think of basically every step that goes into nuclear power generation and that’s what these sites would have. This is a big step in moving the industry forward, with The Hill saying “Nuclear energy has had a lot of bipartisan support in Washington as a climate-friendly power source. However, what to do with spent nuclear fuel has been a lingering challenge.”
Elsewhere, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed a bill paving the way for new nuclear in New Jersey, Amazon signed a deal to fund nuclear energy in Maryland, World Nuclear News reported that Indiana is poised for its first power-producing nuclear reactor, and so much more below.
- Walmart signs nuclear PPA with Constellation to support Illinois operations (Utility Dive)
- Sherrill signs nuclear bill (Politico Pro)
- 5 states could take nuclear waste under Trump administration initiative (The Hill)
- Coalition of local officials pushes Sacramento to extend nuclear power plant operations (Politico Pro)
- Democratic governors turn to nuclear power as response to energy crunch (E&E)
- A nuclear reactor is being installed a mile underground in Kansas (New Scientist)
- Indiana to get its first power-producing nuclear reactor (World Nuclear News)
- NRC to green-light Tennessee advanced nuclear reactor (Politico)
- Amazon Tries to Boost Nuclear Power in Maryland After Scrapping Data Center Deal (Wall Street Journal)
Around the World
If you thought 50 states were a lot, get ready to find out that there are more than 190 countries. Fortunately, we’re monitoring that, too. Some of the biggest news was in Finland; Bloomberg reported that the world’s first permanent nuclear waste repository is nearing an operating permit. This is a huge step for nuclear worldwide and could pave the path for other countries in the future.
Closer to the States, CBC reported on First Nations in British Columbia studying nuclear. CBC said “In June, the seven Williams Treaties First Nations northeast of Toronto signed an agreement with the Ontario and federal governments for $700 million in loan guarantees that will buy them an equity share of one of the new SMRs.” Nuclear could play a huge role in powering indigenous communities cleanly as we move forward.
- South Korea, US and Japan agree to cooperate on SMR deployment, Seoul says (Reuters)
- World’s First Nuclear Waste Repository Nears Operating Permit (Bloomberg)
- Billionaire to invest £35bn in small modular nuclear reactors rollout across UK (The Guardian)
- Argentina unveils US$1.2-billion nuclear reactor plan amid CNEA lay-offs row (Buenos Aires Times)
- South Africa Recommits to Nuclear Power After Safety Incidents (Bloomberg)
- Why these First Nations in B.C. are studying nuclear power (CBC)
- Philippines' Marcos says 'perhaps time to revisit nuclear energy' (France24)
- Italy Set To Approve Legal Framework For Advanced Nuclear, Says Report (NucNet)
- Fresh record set for nuclear generation in 2025 (World Nuclear News)
- Korea weighs $120 billion investment in 8 nuclear reactors in U.S. as part of tariff deal (Korea JoongAng Daily)
- IAEA's projections suggest there could be 1,000 SMRs by 2060 (World Nuclear News)
After all of that in Q3, we’re already looking forward to the headlines in Q4!
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