Power & Operations

As executive vice president for industry strategy at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, Jeff Place leads INPO’s industry-facing work, engaging directly with chief nuclear officers.

The Department of Energy is considering revisions to its regulations covering worker safety and health to help expedite the development of new nuclear reactors under its Reactor Pilot Program.

According to the DOE, the proposed changes to 10 CFR Part 851, “Worker Safety and Health Program,” have the benefit of “increased flexibility, streamlined processes, cost savings, enhanced agility, and improved worker engagement.”

Utah-based EnergySolutions announced on January 15 that it has submitted a notice of intent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, confirming that the company plans to submit an application for a “major licensing action” for new nuclear generation at the closed Kewaunee nuclear power plant in Wisconsin. Applications for an early site permit, construction permit, or combined license are currently being evaluated, the company said.

In June of last year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called on the New York Power Authority—the state's public power utility—to add at least 1 GW of new capacity to the electrical grid through the construction of an advanced nuclear power plant in upstate New York to support the state’s decarbonization goals.

It was good news for the nuclear community, to be sure, but in Hochul's State of the State address in Albany earlier this week, she made that objective sound almost unambitious.

On New Year’s Eve, Holtec International submitted Part 1 of a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking a limited work authorization (LWA) to begin construction of a two-unit SMR-300 plant at the company’s site in Covert, Mich.

Named Pioneer-1 and -2, the twin 340-MWe pressurized water reactors would join the 777-MWe Palisades PWR that began operating in 1971, shut down in 2022, and is expected to reconnect to the grid—slightly delayed—early this year. According to Holtec’s application documents, Part 2 of its construction permit will be filed no later than mid-2027.

With last Friday's announcement regarding its vision for nuclear energy, Meta has entered into 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) for more than 2,600 MW of electricity from a combination of three Vistra-owned nuclear plants to support the tech behemoth's planned operations in the PJM region.

Eight communities and 23 companies, including reactor developers, construction firms, and utilities, have expressed interest in participating in New York state’s plan to develop at least 1 gigawatt of new nuclear power in the upstate area. The communities and companies are responding to solicitations from the New York Power Authority for developers and partners who want to support the agency’s advanced nuclear power projects and are able to provide viable project concepts, as well as for communities to host nuclear facilities and backers that could support such projects.

On January 9, tech giant Meta made waves by announcing three new agreements with Vistra, TerraPower, and Oklo. These deals aim to see Meta supporting both uprates at existing nuclear power plants and the development of new advanced reactor projects, and in total could see the company financing up to 6.6 GW of new and existing energy by 2035. These projects will support the hyperscaler’s ever-growing data center– and AI-driven energy needs.

This week, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order to form the Iowa Nuclear Energy Task Force, the purpose of which will be to “advise her, the General Assembly, and relevant state agencies on the development and advancement of nuclear energy technologies and infrastructure in the state.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has amended the operating licenses of the two boiling water reactors at Constellation Energy's Limerick nuclear power plant, giving the company the green light to replace the units' analog safety-related instrumentation and controls systems with a state-of-the-art digital system.

In 2025, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was a vocal supporter of new nuclear development in the state. In October, she called on the New York Power Authority (NYPA)—the state’s public electric utility—to add 1 GW of new nuclear.

At the tail end of December, New York made more nuclear progress on three fronts. Hochul signed an agreement with Ontario Premier Doug Ford to collaborate on new nuclear development, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) signed a memorandum of understanding with the NYPA, and New York finalized its 2025 energy plan.

Douglas Weaver, nominated to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, was sworn in on December 22 as a commissioner for a term ending June 30, 2026. The appointment brings the NRC to its full five members. Weaver fills a seat that had been vacant since the resignation of Annie Caputo in July 2025, and he is one of only a handful of former NRC staff members to serve on the commission.

Southern Nuclear is leading the charge in artificial intelligence integration, with employee-developed applications driving efficiencies in maintenance, operations, safety, and performance.

The tools span all roles within the company, with thousands of documented uses throughout the fleet, including improved maintenance efficiency, risk awareness in maintenance activities, and better-informed decision-making. The data-intensive process of preparing for and executing maintenance operations is streamlined by leveraging AI to put the right information at the fingertips for maintenance leaders, planners, schedulers, engineers, and technicians.

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.

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.

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.

Hideyo Hanazumi, governor of Niigata Prefecture in Japan, has approved the restart of two reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. The seven-unit facility, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company, is the largest nuclear power plant in the world. It has been shut down since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck the country, severely damaging TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The Department of Energy announced on November 18 that it has closed on a $1 billion loan through its Loan Programs Office to Constellation to aid in financing the restart of the 835-MWe Crane Clean Energy Center, formerly Three Mile Island-1.

AI for energy, and energy for AI: that is the new refrain. But can nuclear power plants be deployed at the pace needed for substantial and timely contributions to the energy infrastructure? For Westinghouse, delivering its AP1000 on time and on budget in the United States is a challenge not yet accomplished, while newcomers like Aalo Atomics are turning to AI to speed design, permitting, and construction.

Mike Kramer has a background in finance, not engineering, but a combined 20 years at Exelon and Constellation and a key role in the deals that have Meta and Microsoft buying power from Constellation’s Clinton and Crane sites have made him something of a nuclear expert.

Kramer spoke with Nuclear News staff writer Susan Gallier in late August, just after a visit to Clinton in central Illinois to celebrate a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Meta that closed in June. As Constellation’s vice president for data economy strategy, Kramer was part of the deal-making—not just the celebration.