Nuclear News

The Department of Energy has announced that it is establishing a categorical exclusion for the application of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures to the authorization, siting, construction, operation, reauthorization, and decommissioning of advanced nuclear reactors.

According to the DOE, this significant change, which goes into effect today, “is based on the experience of DOE and other federal agencies, current technologies, regulatory requirements, and accepted industry practice.”

Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.

Idaho National Laboratory has brought its newest high‑performance supercomputer, named Teton, online and made it available to users through the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science User Facilities program. The system, now the flagship machine in the lab’s Collaborative Computing Center, quadruples INL’s total computing capacity and enters service as the 85th fastest supercomputer in the world.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems makes no small plans. The company wants to build a 400-MWe magnetic confinement fusion power plant called ARC near Richmond, Va., and begin operating it in the early 2030s. And the plans don’t end there. CFS wants to deploy “thousands” of fusion power plants capable of accelerating a global energy transition.

As the energy sector faces mounting pressure to grow at an unprecedented pace while maintaining reliability and affordability, nuclear technology remains an essential component of the long-­term solution. Southern Company stands out among U.S. utilities for its proactive role in shaping these next-­generation systems—not just as a future customer, but as a hands-­on innovator.

Nuclear is enjoying a bit of a resurgence. The momentum for reliable energy to support economic development around the country—specifically data centers and AI—remains strong, and strongly in favor of nuclear. And as feature coverage on the states in the January 2026 issue of Nuclear News made abundantly clear, many states now see nuclear as necessary to support rising electricity demand while maintaining a reliable grid and reaching decarbonization goals.

Westinghouse Electric Company will collaborate with Tetra Tech Canada to explore the possible development and deployment of Westinghouse’s nuclear power reactors in Ontario, Canada, under a memorandum of understanding signed by the companies on January 28.

In early 1951, Los Alamos scientists Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam devised a breakthrough that would lead to the hydrogen bomb [1]. Their design gave the United States an initial advantage in the Cold War, though comparable progress was soon achieved independently in the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom.

This week, the government of Saskatchewan, alongside electric utility SaskPower, announced plans to formally evaluate the deployment of large nuclear technologies. This process will take place in parallel with the Canadian province’s plans to deploy a small modular reactor.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has announced a partnership with Japan’s Kyoto Fusioneering to develop technology for speeding the deployment of commercial fusion energy through the creation of a breeding blanket test facility. The lab said that the partnership will “leverage ORNL’s expertise in supercomputing, advanced manufacturing, materials science, and fusion research, and complement KF’s UNITY test facilities.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has agreed to review an early site permit (ESP) renewal application submitted by Entergy last September for its Grand Gulf site in Mississippi, currently home to one 1,433-MWe boiling water reactor. The initial ESP for the site had been issued in 2007, following a 2003 application submittal.

Building Poland’s nuclear program from the ground up is progressing with the country's first nuclear power plant project: three AP1000 reactors at the Choczewo site in the voivodeship of Pomerania.

Polish state-owned utility Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe has announced some recent developments over the past few months, including turbine island procurement and strengthened engagement with domestic financial institutions, in addition to new data from the country’s Energy Ministry showing record‑high public acceptance, which demonstrates growing nuclear momentum in the country.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management announced it had completed the largest demolition project yet at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., when it took down the final wall of a 325,000-square-foot former uranium enrichment facility last week.

French advanced reactor developer Stellaria has formally submitted an application with the French government for authorization to build a prototype of its fast breeder molten salt reactor concept, known as Stellarium.

The company, which spun out of the country’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and Schneider Electric, filed an application for authorization to create (DAC) for the reactor with the government minister in charge of nuclear safety, making it the first French start-up to submit an application with the authorities for a fast-neutron reactor.

ANS recently hosted a Supplier Showcase webinar, “Digital Tools for Power Uprates: Using DVR and PEPSE to Enhance MUR and Performance Studies,” with a timely topic—power uprates—on the agenda.

The Department of Energy has issued a request for information inviting states to express interest in hosting Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses. According to the DOE, the proposed campuses could support work across the nuclear fuel life cycle, with a primary focus on fuel fabrication, enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing or recycling, separations, and radioactive waste management.

The DOE said the RFI marks the first step toward potentially establishing voluntary federal-state partnerships designed to build a coherent, end-to-end nuclear energy strategy for the country.

On a call with investors this week, NextEra announced that it is considering new nuclear development at its existing sites, as well as projects at greenfield sites.

As the company eyes new development, work on the restart of Duane Arnold hit another milestone this month, with Linn County approving the project’s rezoning application.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is leading a new initiative with the goal of using AI technology to accelerate the development of fusion energy research through high-fidelity computer simulations. The project includes national laboratories, universities, technology companies, and other partners.

Simulation, Technology, and Experiment Leveraging Learning-Accelerated Research enabled by AI (STELLAR-AI) has been developed as part of the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, which was established by presidential executive order last year to speed up the application of AI in scientific research.

Westinghouse Electric Company, Nordion, and PSEG Nuclear announced on Tuesday the signing of long-term agreements to establish the first commercial-scale production of cobalt-60 in a U.S. nuclear reactor. Under the agreements, the companies are to apply newly developed production technology for pressurized water reactors to produce Co-60 at PSEG’s Salem nuclear power plant in New Jersey.

Two participants in the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program have recently announced significant milestones on their associated reactor projects. Aalo Atomics successfully completed its final design review (FDR), and Antares Nuclear has received DOE approval of its preliminary documented safety analysis (PDSA).