US Looks To Resurrect More Nuclear Reactors

Wedoany.com Report-Oct 08, The White House climate adviser said the Biden administration is working on plans to bring more retired nuclear reactors back into service to help meet the growing demand for zero-emission electricity.

Two such projects are already underway, including the planned reactivation of Holtec Corp's Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, as well as the potential restart of a unit at Constellation Energy Corp (CEG.O) and a new project at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Zaidi told the Reuters Sustainability Conference in New York that restarting existing dormant nuclear plants was part of the Biden administration's three-pronged strategy to bring more nuclear power online to combat climate change and boost production. The other two include the development of small modular reactors (SMRS) for certain applications, and the continued development of the next generation of advanced nuclear reactors.

Biden has called for tripling the nation's nuclear power capacity to meet energy demand, which is accelerating in part because of the expansion of power-hungry technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing. The Biden administration said it had closed a $1.52 billion loan to revive the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, which will take two years to reopen.