Amid recent ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine, President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. should take control of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants for long-term security, the Associated Press reported.

“American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure,” Trump suggested, according to a later statement.

The final passage of Senate Bill 424 from Indiana’s House of Representatives last week sent a key piece of pronuclear legislation to Gov. Mike Braun for final approval.

The legislation offers public utilities that want to develop small modular reactors in the Hoosier State to recover preconstruction costs from their customers before the project even begins. The company would have to petition the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and, if approved, would have the opportunity to establish a new rate that reflects the cost of the project.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received a request from the state of Connecticut asking that the state be allowed to assume regulatory authority over certain radioactive materials within state borders.

Fleischmann

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann is all about energy—specifically nuclear energy.

On March 20, the GOP congressman from Tennessee joined the official launch of Atoms for Appalachia, the new report from the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center that studied opportunities for deploying advanced nuclear energy in the area to spur economic development.

The council hosted a series of Atoms for Appalachia (A4A) workshops in 2024 in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia in partnership with the Breakthrough Energy Foundation. The sessions explored workforce demand, partnership opportunities, and innovation happening across the nuclear industry.

As nations look to nuclear energy as a source of reliable electricity and heat, researchers and industry are developing a new generation of nuclear reactors to fill the need. These advanced nuclear reactors will provide safe, efficient, and economical power that go beyond what the current large light water reactors can do.

But before large-scale deployment of advanced reactors, researchers need to understand and test the safety and performance of the technologies—especially the coolants and materials—that make them possible.

Now, the United States and the United Kingdom have teamed up to test hundreds of advanced nuclear materials.

Fiona Rayment

Shaping the global nuclear future requires an understanding of nuclear’s role in addressing national and energy security endeavors together with foresight into the energy sector’s future needs. Nuclear typically produces reliable baseload electricity, but it could also play an important role in economically viable cogeneration. In addition, future electricity demand will require significant enhancements to baseload generation. Addressing these challenges requires a combination of innovation, collaboration, capacity enhancements, and focused strategic investments.

Nuclear is increasingly recognized as essential to enabling energy security and achieving net-zero emissions. The United Kingdom has demonstrated leadership in this area, with initiatives such as the Young Generation Network’s global #NetZeroNeedsNuclear campaign at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. Efforts like these are impossible without international collaboration.

A pair of bills working their way through the Iowa statehouse aim to promote nuclear energy projects in the state—in part by changing how the plants would be regulated and funded.

Sellafield Ltd. and AtkinsRéalis have successfully operated a robotic dog from a remote location in what might be the first time such an operation has happened at a nuclear licensed site, according to the companies in a March 18 press release.

U.S. uranium production increased throughout 2024, with more growth planned in 2025. The producers who can make that happen, however, were burned before by a “renaissance” that didn’t take off. Now they are watching and waiting for signals from Washington, D.C., including the impacts of tariffs, shifting relationships with global uranium producers, and funding for the enrichment task orders designed to boost demand for U.S. uranium.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced this week the release of the second part of Holtec’s loan disbursement for the Palisades nuclear plant restart plans in Michigan.