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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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NN Asks: Is the U.S. ready for nuclear construction to accelerate?
Craig Stover
Yes, but . . .
The United States is better positioned today for nuclear construction than it has been in decades. Some of that comes from the experience gained at Vogtle and V.C. Summer. I was part of the team that helped start the V.C. Summer project in 2008, and at that time we were trying to build a nuclear construction workforce from scratch. We learned a lot through that effort, and many of those lessons learned have since been studied, documented, and shared.
The nuclear industry is also benefiting from the wave of investment that started growing around 2020. Over the last five or six years, there has been a serious effort across the country to get ready for new nuclear builds. The U.S. government and the private sector are investing billions of dollars in new nuclear. Much of that work is happening before widespread commercial deployment contracts are signed. This is real, and we need to prepare.
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
Dr. Rita Baranwal leads development and deployment of the AP300™ Small Modular Reactor (SMR) at Westinghouse and has over 25 years of nuclear industry experience. Dr. Baranwal was previously Chief Technology Officer at Westinghouse where she led the clean energy company’s global research and development on innovative nuclear solutions.
Previously, Dr. Baranwal served as Chief Nuclear Officer at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Before joining EPRI, Baranwal served as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in a U.S. President-appointed and Senate-confirmed role.
Dr. Baranwal is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), and has a bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in materials science and engineering and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in the same discipline from the University of Michigan.
Last modified July 22, 2024, 11:29am EDT
