Think nuclear conversations are limited to just the nuclear industry? Think again! In just the first three months of 2026, nuclear has been making waves beyond the industry and reaching people from all over—and they’ve been talking about it. Here are a few of the voices we heard in Q1:
Though we’re still so early in the year, there is already new nuclear legislation in the works; and bipartisan nuclear legislation, at that. Senators James Risch (R-ID) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) introduced the ARC Act, which would provide a financial backstop to support early movers.
Getting new nuclear projects off the ground is a financial risk many companies simply can’t take. I’m proud to introduce [the bipartisan ARC Act] with Senator Risch to reduce that risk and accelerate investment in advanced nuclear.
The U.S. must remain the undisputed global leader when it comes to nuclear energy. To do so, we need advanced reactors that can meet growing energy demand here at home and that we can deliver to customers around the world.
There has also been lots of movement in the states this past quarter. All six New England governors recently issued a statement expressing their intention to explore opportunities for advanced nuclear in their states. And in nearby New York, Governor Kathy Hochul has been a vocal advocate for building more nuclear capacity. She even included a nuclear shoutout in her State of the State address:
Last summer, I took the bold step of greenlighting the first nuclear power project in a generation … We set a goal of building one gigawatt … I’ve decided to raise the bar to five gigawatts. That’s more nuclear energy than has been built anywhere in the United States in the last 30 years!
Space has been top of mind for all of us these past few months with the success of the Artemis II mission, and NASA is already looking at ways to power future deep space missions (we have an idea…).
SR-1 Freedom will establish flight-heritage nuclear hardware, set regulatory and launch precedent, and activate the industrial base for future fission power systems across propulsion, surface and long‑duration missions.
Another hot topic was—you guessed it—data centers and AI. With the continued growth of this new industry comes the need to power it. Once again, we (and Big Tech) have an idea…
Nuclear energy will help power our AI future, strengthen our country's energy infrastructure, and provide clean, reliable electricity for everyone. These projects are going to create thousands of skilled jobs in Ohio and Pennsylvania, add new energy to the grid, extend the life of three existing nuclear plants, and accelerate new reactor technologies.
From government to technology to business, everyone is talking about nuclear—and this was just a sample! Find out what other Voices for Nuclear we’ve heard lately and stay tuned for Q2’s roundup.
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