October 16, 2024 – As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today opened applications for up to $900 million in funding to support the initial domestic deployment of Generation III+ (Gen III+) small modular reactor (SMR) technologies.
September 30, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $100 million in funding to establish a nuclear safety training and workforce development program. Job growth in the U.S. nuclear energy sector is projected to triple by 2050 thanks to investments made by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America Agenda and the long-term maintenance and sustainability of these reactors is crucial to keeping pace with the growing demand for clean energy.”
September 25, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy awarded 19 Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) projects Sept. 23. The 2024 third call RTE awards, totaling approximately $1 million, were granted to 19 principal investigators from different institutions including universities and industry. Each project supports the advancement of nuclear energy.
September 24, 2024 – The Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) announced today that four companies will be provided a GAIN Nuclear Energy (NE) Voucher to accelerate the innovation and application of advanced nuclear technologies. NE vouchers provide advanced nuclear technology innovators with access to the extensive nuclear research capabilities and expertise available across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory complex. This is the fourth award for FY 2024.
September 16, 2024 – The NRC has issued a Construction Permit to Abilene Christian University (ACU) to build its Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR) facility on the university’s campus in Abilene, Texas. It marks the first research reactor project approved by the NRC in a number of decades. The MSRR, which will not generate electricity, will use molten salt coolant with fuel dissolved in the salt.
September 11, 2024 – Many states have turned to GAIN as a resource to guide them through technical and regulatory steps for potential nuclear deployment. In many coal-dependent communities, the loss of a major employer can be devastating. Take Eastern Kentucky’s Appalachian Region.
August 27, 2024 – Kenya Stump, an executive with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet for over 17 years, has seen the volatility of coal as an energy source: shrinking demand, plant closures, job losses and tougher pollution controls.
As the United States continues its rush to shutter the nation’s remaining coal plants, energy analysts are debating what should fill the gap to meet the growing need for electricity. Increasingly, many are pointing to nuclear energy as the solution.
A contingent of Utah lawmakers, university presidents and key policymakers recently flew into Idaho Falls for a daylong visit to learn about the future of energy in a Western grid straining under pressure from growing demand.
July 19, 2024 – The NRC issued a safety evaluation (SE) documenting the completion of its staff’s review of the construction permit application submitted by Kairos Power LLC (Kairos) on July 14, 2023. The application is for the Hermes 2 test reactor facility, which is proposed to be built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, will support development of Kairos’s fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor technology.