DOGE told regulator to ‘rubber stamp’ nuclear
A DOGE representative told the chair and top staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the agency will be expected to give “rubber stamp” approval to new reactors tested by the departments of Energy or Defense, according to three people with knowledge of a May meeting where the message was delivered.
Small nuclear reactors are no fix for California’s energy needs
On Monday, the Natural Resources Committee of the California Assembly will consider a bill to repeal a longstanding moratorium on nuclear plants in the state, which was meant to be in place until there is a sustainable plan for what to do with radioactive waste. Defeated multiple times in the past, this bill would carve out an exception for small modular reactors, or SMRs, the current pipe dream of nuclear advocates.
Republicans and Democrats Finally Agree on Nuclear. It’s the Industry That’s the Problem.
Amid a broader global flirtation with the technology, Democrats across the country, driven by demand projections as well as climate concerns, are now joining Republicans in pushing for a nuclear resurgence — and there hasn’t been a partisan backlash.
Nuclear Industry Pushes New Plan for Waste Disposal
The U.S. nuclear industry is gearing up for a major shift in how it handles radioactive waste, introducing a new strategy aimed at finally breaking decades of policy and regulatory stalemate. The U.S. Nuclear Industry Council (USNIC) has rolled out an Action Plan designed to modernize the sector’s approach and align with broader federal goals to rejuvenate America's nuclear energy capabilities.
Nuclear Power Is a Dead End. We Must Abandon It Completely.
Amid a confluence of crises—the Ukraine war, an energy crisis, and climate breakdown—nuclear energy is experiencing a renaissance, at least in the rhetoric of politicians and pundits across Europe, North America, and beyond. After all, it’s tempting to propose these generators of low-carbon energy as a panacea to this daunting phalanx of calamities
France and Switzerland shut down nuclear power plants amid scorching heatwave
Due to a scorching heatwave which has spread across Europe in recent days, a number of nuclear power plants in Switzerland and France have been forced to either reduce activity or shut down completely as extreme temperatures have prevented sites from relying on water from local rivers.
To cool down, nuclear power plants pump water from local rivers or the sea, which they then release back into water bodies at a higher temperature.
From bombs to boilers: Seven decades of nuclear failure
The history of nuclear power is a tale of economic miscalculation, technological hubris, wishful thinking, political expediency, and corporate malfeasance that resulted in the largest managerial disaster in industrial history
The nuclear mirage: why small modular reactors won’t save nuclear power
Everywhere you look, the nuclear industry’s hype machine is in overdrive. Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy urges a “warp speed” nuclear revival. Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and the UK government all tout small modular reactors (SMRs) as the silver bullet for climate change and energy security. Tech billionaires are hiring nuclear veterans. Wall Street is whispering about “round-the-clock power” for AI data centers. The UK is betting billions on “mini nukes” to fill its looming energy gap.