Nuclear Projects Underway in US

Best estimates for when nuclear can begin to make a significant contribution to the US grid are still in the mid-2030s.
Nevertheless, there are a number of projects underway, each of which could be a puzzle piece.
The most consequential current developments are the restarts of existing, 50 year old plants, which could begin significant generation near term.
The other builds skew on the “demonstration” and “research” side, and have longer time lines.

There persists this unfounded view, even among some very smart people, that somewhere, an evil cabal of blue haired, green-addled hippies are preventing the massive rollout of the nuclear plants that will save us. The biggest obstacles to nuclear are today what they have always been – financial.
For added context, see my posts here and here.

Nuclear Hazelnut (Jenifer Avellaneda) on X:

Did you know there are actually 5 nuclear reactors under construction in the United States right now?

And that doesn’t even include major reactor restarts… Let’s break them down..
Hermes –

@KairosPower

Oak Ridge, Tennessee • 35 MWth test reactor • Fluoride salt–cooled high-temp reactor • Uses TRISO fuel • NRC construction permit issued in 2023 • First advanced non-light-water reactor under construction in the U.S. in decades Goal: Demonstrate tech before commercial deployment.
Fun fact: It’s being built near the birthplace of the Manhattan Project.

Hermes 2 – Kairos Power

• Two additional test reactors
• Same 35 MWth design
• Approved in 2024
• Designed to accelerate learning before commercial rollout

MSR-1 – Natura Resources

Abilene Christian University, Texas • Molten Salt Reactor • ~1 MWth • NRC construction permit issued in 2024 • Research + demonstration reactor Fun fact: This is one of the 1st university-associated advanced reactor builds in modern U.S. history!!

Aalo-X –

@AaloAtomics

Idaho • 10 MWe modular reactor • DOE Reactor Pilot Program participant • Experimental demonstration unit • Groundbreaking completed Designed as a factory-manufactured microreactor platform. Fun fact: The company is targeting first criticality around 2026!!!

atrium – @TerraPower

Kemmerer, Wyoming (at a retiring coal plant site) • Sodium-cooled fast reactor • 345 MWe • Integrated molten salt energy storage • Non-nuclear construction underway •
Target early 2030s Fun fact: It can ramp output to 500 MWe using thermal storage.

Palisades Nuclear Plant –@holtecintl (Michigan)

~800 MWe PWR • Shut down in 2022 • Now undergoing refurbishment for potential restart in 2026 This would be the first restart of a fully closed commercial nuclear reactor in U.S. history!! Fun fact: It’s receiving federal support because policymakers now see nuclear as essential for grid reliability & clean energy goals

Crane Clean Energy Center –

@CEGCleanEnergy (Pennsylvania)
~837 MWe PWR • Closed in 2019 • Restart effort underway to serve growing electricity demand, including data centers Yes, formerly known as Three Mile Island.
Same Unit 1 that operated safely for decades. One of the most symbolic nuclear comebacks in U.S. history

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Worth noting: Here is Kelly Trice, President of Holtec International, who is supervising the Palisades rebuild, talking about the subsidies that have been crucial to getting that project to pencil out.