March 2, 2026, 1:51PMNuclear NewsPalo Verde, with three reactors and a combined capacity of about 4,000 MWe, is the only nuclear power plant in Arizona. But that could very well change soon if state officials have their way.Much like other states in the West, Arizona believes nuclear energy is a vital component of the state’s future energy portfolio. At a special meeting of the Arizona Corporation Commission on February 24, commissioners, officials, and others in attendance showed broad bipartisan support for expanding nuclear energy. Read more...
February 26, 2026, 7:19AMNuclear NewsIt has been an unusually busy week in the world of West Coast nuclear legislative momentum. In California, a bill is aiming to effectively repeal the state’s nuclear moratorium, while in Oregon, new legislation would have the state create a nuclear feasibility study.Now, in Washington state, legislators are introducing various measures to move new nuclear prospects forward. One motion requests that Gov. Bob Ferguson respond to the Department of Energy’s request for information regarding states hosting Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses.Read more...
February 25, 2026, 9:26AMNuclear NewsHistorical photo of Trojan nuclear power plant, ca. 1974. (Photo: DOE)As concerns over growing energy needs persist, yet another state is reconsidering nuclear power. A piece of legislation is currently progressing through Oregon’s legislature that would direct the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) to conduct a study to assess the feasibility of deploying new power reactors in the state.Read more...
February 24, 2026, 4:28PMNuclear NewsProposed legislation in California could exempt certain reactor designs from the state’s long-standing moratorium on new nuclear generation, effectively ending the moratorium. California Assembly Member Lisa Calderon (D., 56th Dist.) filed A.B. 2647 with the California State Assembly last week. If the bill progresses and becomes state law, it could pave the way to increasing the number of nuclear reactors in the state in the future. Currently, Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant houses the only operational commercial nuclear reactors in California. Read more...
February 23, 2026, 9:37AMNuclear NewsCraig PiercyCraig Piercycpiercy@ans.orgI spent a fair amount of time over the holiday break pondering the makings of a good year for nuclear technology in 2026.Last year was white-hot. Between the fundamental upward shift in domestic electricity demand, the continuing proliferation of data center projects in all corners of the U.S., the increasingly voracious appetite of the financial markets for nuclear investment, and the Trump administration’s full-throttle approach to nuclear policy, 2025 will likely be remembered as a significant, positive inflection point in the history of the harnessed atom.I hope 2026 will be even better, but for it to be so, it will have to be different. It needs a seriousness about it, a scrape of the froth. Advanced nuclear energy technology is in a hardening phase at the moment, where the green shoots of innovation must now grow into robust commercial enterprises capable of scaling quickly and safely. Not everyone will succeed.Read more...
