Three commercial power reactors across two Illinois nuclear power plants—Constellation’s Clinton and Dresden—have had their licenses renewed for 20 more years by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Electric Power Research Institute has launched a global initiative to prepare future grids by modernizing how the electricity-generating sector detects, anticipates, and responds to emerging risks and manages technological transformation. The nonprofit energy research and development organization intends for the initiative, called Rapid Adaptation of Grid Defense, Analytics, and Resilience (RADAR), to provide a scalable framework, advanced tools, and targeted training for strengthening grid resilience and reliability.

Fusion technology company Thea Energy announced this week that it has completed the preconceptual design of its fusion power plant, called Helios. According to the company, Helios is “the first stellarator fusion power plant architecture that is realistic to build and operate with hardware that is available today, and that is tolerant to the rigors of manufacturing, construction, long-term operation, and maintenance of a commercial device.”

The Department of Energy Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security (EHSS) held its annual meeting this month with the government of the Marshall Islands. The two-and-a-half-day meeting, in Honolulu, Hawaii, focused on ongoing cooperative efforts and programs related to the legacy of U.S. nuclear weapons testing from the 1940s and 1950s. The United States began cleanup operations on the islands in the 1970s.

France’s state-owned electric utility EDF has announced that Flamanville-3—the country’s first EPR—reached full nuclear thermal power for the first time, generating 1,669 megawatts of gross electrical power. This major milestone is significant in terms of both this project and France’s broader nuclear sector.

Cornyn

Padilla

Sens. Alex Padilla (D., Calif.) and John Cornyn (R., Texas) have introduced bipartisan legislation to formally establish the Office of Fusion at the Department of Energy. This move seeks to codify one of the many changes put forward by the recent internal reorganization plan for offices at the DOE.

Companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Don Beyer (D., Va.) and Jay Obernolte (R., Calif.), who are cochairs of the House Fusion Energy Caucus.

Details: According to Obernolte, “Congress must provide clear direction and a coordinated federal strategy to move fusion from the lab to the grid, and this legislation does exactly that.”

Utah-based Creekstone Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with EnergySolutions to study the feasibility of building at least 2 gigawatts of advanced nuclear capacity to power a 25-acre data center Creekstone is planning in Delta, Utah.

The second annual South Carolina Nuclear Summit held last week featured utility executives and legislators from the state, as well as leaders from Brookfield Asset Management, which is being considered to restart construction on the two abandoned reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant in Fairfield County. The summit, at the University of South Carolina’s Colonial Life Arena, attracted more than 350 attendees. The event was hosted by the university’s Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing.

GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 small modular reactor has completed the second step of the generic design assessment (GDA) process in the United Kingdom. In this step, the U.K. Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales did not identify “any fundamental safety, security safeguard or environmental protection shortfalls with the design of the BWRX-300.” Step 1 was completed in December 2024.

Pacific Gas & Electric has announced that the California Coastal Commission, the state agency in charge of protecting California’s roughly 840 miles of coastline, unanimously voted to approve the Act Consistency Certification and Coastal Development Permit for Diablo Canyon, a critical step in the utility’s work to extend the life of the nuclear power plant.

The operating licenses for the three boiling water reactors at Browns Ferry nuclear power plant, in Athens, Ala., have each been renewed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an additional 20 years. The reactors, operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, are now licensed to operate until December 2053 for Unit 1, June 2054 for Unit 2, and July 2056 for Unit 3.

Reactor-agnostic TRISO fuel producer Standard Nuclear recently announced that it has executed an other transaction agreement (OTA) with the Department of Energy. As one of the five companies involved in the DOE’s Fuel Line Pilot Program, its entrance into this deal marks a milestone in the public-private effort to bring advanced fuel production on line in support of the DOE’s concurrently running Reactor Pilot Program.

Five companies are the recipients of Department of Energy awards to support the development, modification, and licensing of transportation packages for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel. HALEU, which is enriched between 5 percent and 20 percent, is the type of fuel required for the operation of many of the small advanced nuclear reactors that are being designed and developed by U.S. companies.

Holtec International announced that it has been awarded a turnkey supply contract by Taiwan Power Company to establish indoor dry spent nuclear fuel storage facilities at both the closed Chinshan and Kuosheng nuclear power plant sites on the island nation.

In April, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14270, “Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy,” which calls for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (along with the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Environmental Protection Agency) to issue a “sunset rule” to effectively nullify certain regulations in no more than five years.

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration reported that it has removed all cesium-137 irradiators from the state of Oklahoma.

Independent sampling and analysis of the 17th batch of ALPS-treated water, which Tokyo Electric Power Company has been discharging on from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, has confirmed that the tritium concentration is far below Japan’s operational limit, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In a flurry of announcements this week, NextEra Energy confirmed new deals across the energy sector with Symmetry, Meta, Basin Electric, WPPI Energy, and Google. These deals are primarily focused on enabling more nuclear build-out for the artificial intelligence boom.

Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility, recently announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Brookfield Asset Management.

Nieh

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is now back up to four commissioners. Following a 66–32 confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate last month, Ho Nieh was officially sworn in last week.

He fills the seat left vacant following the dismissal of Christopher Hanson and is set to serve through the remainder of a term that will expire June 30, 2029.

Quotable: “I am grateful for the opportunity to return to the NRC to work alongside such a competent and dedicated workforce," said Nieh, in the NRC’s press release announcing his being sworn in. "This agency shaped my career and my commitment to nuclear safety. It is an incredible honor to have been appointed by President Trump to serve on the Commission, and I look forward to serving alongside Chairman Wright, Commissioner Crowell, and Commissioner Marzano. I am energized by the opportunities the NRC has to enable the safe use of nuclear technologies for America during this pivotal period in its history.”