Policy


Al Gore has some positive things to say about nuclear power

September 29, 2025, 9:21AMANS Nuclear Cafe

Former Vice President Al Gore has a global reputation as a champion of environmental protection. He has also been known as an opponent of nuclear energy. However, his opinion on nuclear seems to be changing, as highlighted in the recent Axios article, “How AI is Helping Al Gore Warm Up to Nuclear Power.”

Garrish is NE-1 and Williams leads the NNSA following Senate vote

September 19, 2025, 12:00PMNuclear News

Williams

Garrish

Theodore “Ted” Garrish is the Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for nuclear energy and Brandon Williams is the DOE’s undersecretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration following their confirmations yesterday by the U.S. Senate.

While awaiting confirmation, Garrish has been serving since January as senior advisor to Energy Secretary Chris Wright. He assumes the duties of NE-1 that Michael Goff has held as interim assistant secretary since Kathryn Huff stepped down from the NE-1 role in May 2024. The post of acting NNSA administrator has been held by Teresa Robbins since January 20; Jill Hruby held the post from 2021 to 2025.

PR: American Nuclear Society welcomes Senate confirmation of Ted Garrish as the DOE’s nuclear energy secretary

September 18, 2025, 4:53PMPress Releases

Washington, D.C. — The American Nuclear Society (ANS) applauds the U.S. Senate's confirmation of Theodore “Ted” Garrish as Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

“On behalf of over 11,000 professionals in the fields of nuclear science and technology, the American Nuclear Society congratulates Mr. Garrish on being confirmed by the Senate to once again lead the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy,” said ANS President H.M. "Hash" Hashemian.

A wave of new U.S.-U.K. deals ahead of Trump’s state visit

September 15, 2025, 3:04PMNuclear News
The now-closed Cottam coal-fired power station, where Holtec and EDF plan to deploy SMR-300s alongside new data centers. (Photo: Holtec)

President Trump will arrive in the United Kingdom this week for a state visit that promises to include the usual pomp and ceremony alongside the signing of a landmark new agreement on U.S.-U.K. nuclear collaboration.

Maryland governor speaks on the state’s nuclear future

August 20, 2025, 7:01AMNuclear News

Despite being home to just one nuclear power plant, the 1,756-MWe Calvert Cliffs, Maryland is among the top producers of nuclear power in the country relative to its total generated power.

This is an energy strategy that Maryland Gov. Wes Moore recently said he plans to expand on, in part through his recent signing of the state’s Next Generation Energy Act, H.B. 1035.

House E&C Democratic members question the DOE

August 18, 2025, 3:31PMNuclear News

As work progresses on the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, which will progress through DOE authorization rather than Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing, three members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce have sent a critical letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

The letter demands “information about the DOE and its employees’ dealings with the NRC and its staff” and expresses concern that DOE staff has “broken the firewall” between the departments.

Gov. Pritzker looks to possible changes in Illinois nuclear

August 18, 2025, 7:00AMNuclear News

About two years ago, on August 11, 2023, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker vetoed S.B. 76, a bill that would have lifted the state’s moratorium on new nuclear power plant construction. It was a reversal on his decidedly pronuclear stance; in 2021, he signed S.B. 2408, which supported Braidwood, Byron, and Dresden nuclear power plants with $694 million in state funding.

Building momentum for a stronger ANS

August 8, 2025, 9:31AMANS NewsHash Hashemian

Hash Hashemian
president@ans.org

The 2025 ANS Annual Conference in Chicago was a powerful springboard to begin my term as president. With over 1,400 attendees, it was one of our most dynamic gatherings in recent memory—full of energy, ideas, and a shared commitment to advancing nuclear science and technology.

As we move forward, my focus is clear: to elevate the role of nuclear in environmental protection, national security, energy diversity, and grid stability. These priorities are not just strategic—they are essential to a cleaner, more resilient future.

The goals I laid out at the conclusion of the Board of Directors meeting in June are simple, but I am sure they will be effective in engaging our community.

One simple change to start is the move away from the term meetings—the American Nuclear Society now uses the term conferences to describe its two yearly flagship gatherings, to more appropriately reflect the more than 1,000 attendees that these events bring together.

The nuclear outlook on the Big Beautiful Bill

August 4, 2025, 12:01PMNuclear News

The dust has settled: It’s been one month since President Trump signed H.R.1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, after a lengthy and contentious reconciliation process. As drafts of the bill evolved through committees, the House, and the Senate, the fate of federal support for nuclear energy projects was often obfuscated.

The NRC’s Annie Caputo resigns

July 30, 2025, 7:46AMNuclear News

Caputo

Commissioner Annie Caputo is resigning from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to a statement sent out to staff on Tuesday morning. Her resignation comes one day after the U.S. Senate voted to reconfirm chair David Wright to the commission.

“The time has come for me to more fully focus on my family,” Caputo said in her statement, provided by NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell. “I believe the [Trump] administration’s recent executive orders and the bipartisan ADVANCE Act have given the agency a platform for change.”

On North Carolina's ratification of Senate Bill 266

July 29, 2025, 5:17PMANS Nuclear CafeSteve Rea
North Carolina's State Legislative Building in Raleigh.

I have been a North Carolinian for 62 years and involved in the state’s nuclear energy industry from my high school days to today. I have seen firsthand how North Carolina has flourished. This growth has been due to the state’s enterprising people and strong leaders. Clean, competitive, and always-on nuclear power has also played an important role.

ANS leadership lays groundwork for new 10-year strategic plan

July 21, 2025, 3:00PMANS News

The last time the American Nuclear Society Board of Directors approved a strategic plan was back in 2018 under the direction of past president Bob Coward. Realizing a lot has changed with both ANS and the wider nuclear community, the current Board of Directors decided it was time to give our strategic plan a fresh look. Following the November 2024 ANS Conference, the Board has undertaken a comprehensive strategic planning process to align the Society’s direction with the realities of the rapidly changing energy and technology landscape.

NRC confronts “unprecedented position”

July 17, 2025, 7:01AMNuclear News

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which currently has three serving commissioners and—according to recent media reports—a detailee from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is accelerating licensing timelines to meet the requirements of President Trump’s May 23 Executive Order 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” and the ADVANCE Act. On top of that, the agency is preparing for an anticipated rush of applications while dealing with a reduced workforce.

Trump administration begins overhaul of the NRC

June 17, 2025, 7:42AMNuclear News

Hanson

Since the president's inauguration in January, the Trump administration has been on course to make big changes at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to realize its goals of deregulation, energy dominance, and deployment of advanced reactors. Given the executive orders (EOs) and the work that the Department of Government Efficiency has done in cutting the federal workforce, it was a surprise that NRC commissioner Christopher Hanson was dismissed on Friday, according to a statement Hanson posted on his LinkedIn profile early Monday.

Hanson said in the post that President Trump terminated his position “without cause, contrary to existing law and long-standing precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointments.”

American Nuclear Society on the firing of NRC Commissioner Hanson

June 16, 2025, 4:17PMPress Releases

Washington, D.C. — The American Nuclear Society (ANS) issued the following statement:

"A competent, effective, and fully staffed U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is essential to the rapid deployment of new reactors and advanced technologies. The arbitrary removal of commissioners without due cause creates regulatory uncertainty that threatens to delay America’s nuclear energy expansion."

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