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New Georgia reactor is a test case for nuclear power

Jul 31, 2023
Advocates call nuclear power essential to a carbon-free future. But the project took much longer, and cost much more, than planned.
Unit 3, left, of the Plant Vogtle nuclear power station. The reactor began generating energy Monday.
© 2023 Georgia Power Co.

Russia's role in world's nuclear energy industry prompts calls to up U.S. uranium production

Mar 30, 2022
Russia plays a key role in preparing fuel for power plants. A ban could delay projects, and domestic production stirs social justice issues.
A pro-Ukraine sign at the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many countries want to reduce their reliance on Russian energy sources, including in the nuclear field.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

In decarbonizing the US, a big nuclear question

Aug 16, 2021
How much should nuclear power be part of our energy future?
A boat passes the nuclear plant on Three Mile Island as seen from Goldsboro, Pennsylvania in March 2019.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Bill Gates shares his plan for avoiding climate disaster

Feb 17, 2021
In his new book, Gates explains why investments like making concrete "greener" will prevent extreme climate change.
Gates calls cement an example of a common material that must evolve as part of the effort to mitigate climate change.
John Keatley

Pennsylvania weighs nuclear subsidies after Three Mile Island

May 20, 2019
The nuclear power plant will be "retired" at the end of September, but the state wants to support the four remaining plants.
Steam rises out of the nuclear plant on Three Mile Island  in Middletown, Pennsylvania on March 26, 2019.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images

Federal loan guarantees boost nuclear energy projects

Mar 27, 2019
The Vogtle project is three years overdue and vastly over budget.
Aerial view of the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant.
Charles C Watson Jr./Wikimedia

Trump, Perry propose a lifeline for coal and nuclear sectors that critics say is unnecessary and would be harmful

Jun 5, 2018
The latest directive would allow the Energy Department to use a complex wartime law in the interest of national security.

For public good, not for profit.

Coal subsidy sinks after federal committee votes “no”

Jan 9, 2018
The Federal Energy Regulatory Committee voted down a proposal from the Department of Energy offering financial support for power plants that keep a 90-day supply of fuel stock on site (basically coal and nuclear plants). The FERC said the cost to consumers far outweighed any possible grid security benefit of the measure.

Uranium companies in the U.S. are hoping demand will return

Dec 26, 2017
Could there be a uranium boom on the horizon? If there is, it would help coal-heavy Wyoming.
Nichols Ranch Manager Bernard Bonifas reaches into one of the hundreds of tan boxes dotting the landscape at the Nichols Ranch uranium mine. They keep injection and recovery wells insulated during Wyoming’s harsh winters. 
Madelyn Beck/ for Marketplace

Trump won't certify Iran deal

Oct 13, 2017
President Donald Trump announced today he won’t certify Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement. The decision had been flagged in advance by administration officials. The next move is up to Congress. It has 60 days to decide whether or not to reimpose sanctions on Iran that were lifted by the 2015 deal. Any decision […]