Latest news with #nuclearpower
CBS News
16 hours ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Emergency siren tests happening at two Pennsylvania power stations this week
Pennsylvania officials are warning Chester County residents not to panic if they hear alarms coming from two major power stations this week. The Limerick Generating Station in Pottstown and the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Delta will both conduct tests of their emergency alert siren systems this upcoming week. According to their website, Limerick Clean Energy Center's two nuclear reactors can produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of more than 1.7 million homes. Limerick sits on a 600-acre site and draws its cooling water from the Schuylkill River. The Peach Bottom facility also has two nuclear reactors that can generate 2,770 megawatts and can produce enough energy to power the equivalent of nearly 2 million homes. You can expect to hear the emergency siren coming from the Limerick Generating Station at 2 p.m. on Monday, June 2. Then, on Wednesday, June 4 the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station will conduct their emergency alert siren testing at 1 p.m. Both test alerts should last for about three minutes, officials say.
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Nuclear Golden Age: Huge Potential, Stubborn Obstacles
President Donald Trump's four executive orders mandating a great and fast leap forward for the nuclear power industry may seem to nuclear advocates like manna from heaven. But as it fell to earth, it appeared that the manna might be filled with empty calories. Trump's directives outline an aggressive program of nuclear power growth. For starters, he wants to quadruple nuclear power production by 2050; shorten the licensing time to 18 months; and build 10 traditional, large light water reactors and a plethora of small modular reactors (SMRs). The need for more nuclear power as fast as possible is palpable. The big tech companies and their data centers are demanding vast new power supplies. They are facing constraints already dictated by a lack of power generating or by congested transmission lines. Large swaths of the country will soon be achingly short of power in times of extreme cold or abnormal heat, according to forecasts from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. But there are roadblocks. Some are specific and some more generic. The biggest is, as always, money. Nuclear sources across the board, from Arshad Mansoor of EPRI to James Schaefer of Guggenheim Partners, who is something of a Pied Piper for nuclear, say that for nuclear to move forward, the federal government must provide financing in the form of a 'backstop' to protect against runaway losses. So far, the Trump administration hasn't spoken to this. Another money issue is tax credits. The massive tax-cut bill now before the Senate seeks to phase out green tax credits, but treats nuclear power just a little kinder than wind and solar. It extends the tax credits longer, but these are only available to power plants which begin construction before 2029. Clearly, most contemplated new reactors will fall outside of that time window. While everyone agrees that licensing nuclear plants takes too long, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is about to be hit with a tidal wave of new applications, many of those for SMRs. These are challenging because they all have different designs, fuels, cooling systems, materials, vulnerabilities and strengths. They are new almost from the ground up and require a new regime of technical expertise to assess their safety. The NRC and the electric utility industry and its nuclear component all face severe labor shortages. Mark Menezes, president and CEO of the United States Energy Association, flagged the labor shortage as a threat to the energy supply future during a panel discussion of fusion development at the group's annual conference on May 15. He recalled when the two new Vogtle Units were under construction as well as the mixed oxide fuel facility — later abandoned — at the Savannah River National Laboratory, there was a shortage of skilled workers in the South, from engineers to welders to laborers. Clint Thurmon, vice president of Ferreira Power South, said April 30 on Digital 360, the weekly online webinar, that an acute shortage of linemen was limiting the growth of the electricity infrastructure. In the same vein, new reactors are likely to run into the supply chain difficulties that are already plaguing the utilities, and which are likely to get worse. Most bulk electrical equipment has been procured from China for half a century. Although new sources and domestic manufacture — particularly of transformers — is increasing, the shortage is severe and will continue even without big new demands adding to the pressure. In the first golden age of nuclear power, roughly the 1960s, it surged: Ninety-nine reactors were built at 61 sites, according to the Energy Information Administration. It would be hard with the deteriorated nuclear base to achieve that today. Some things will get easier. For example, virtual twins will facilitate the nuclear construction of the future. Many components and much of the fuel construction will be assisted with AI. Still, the uncertainties are many. One of these is how much power from SMRs really costs. A driver of SMRs -- roughly 350 megawatts and less — is that they can be built in factories and that this will keep down the cost. But as that hypothesis is yet to be proven, the real cost of power from SMRs isn't known, and there are likely to be wide variations in designs. Not every SMR will prove out nor will every SMR produce power at a competitive price. There will be more nuclear power going forward, but how much and at what cost is, like all gold rushes, uncertain.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Stocks to Buy to Ride the Nuclear Power Renaissance
NuScale Power is making nuclear power "small" -- and that's a big opportunity. Constellation Energy is the nation's leader in producing nuclear power. Cameco foresees huge demand for uranium to power nuclear plants. 10 stocks we like better than NuScale Power › President Trump recently signed an executive order aimed at giving the nuclear energy industry a boost. The president wants to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and speed up the development of new nuclear power reactors in the country. The order could power a resurgence in the sector. NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR), Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG), and Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) stand out to a few contributors as nuclear energy stocks that could benefit from the industry's renaissance. Here's a closer look at why they could produce powerful returns for investors if the nuclear energy sector's resurgence gains steam. Reuben Gregg Brewer (NuScale Power): When President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will help to speed up the adoption of nuclear power in the United States, NuScale Power's stock rallied. A lot of nuclear power stocks did the same, but NuScale's rally brought the shares back up to all-time highs. There's both risk and opportunity here. NuScale Power's price advance is being driven by emotions, since the company doesn't technically have a product to sell just yet. But the small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) it is attempting to build are a very exciting advance in nuclear power. SMRs are built in a factory, which makes them cheaper, easier, and quicker to build than large, site-built nuclear power plants. Their small size also means they can be transported to where they are needed and placed closer to population centers. The inclusion of modern safeguards, meanwhile, reduces the risk of a high-profile meltdown. If NuScale Power can start selling its SMRs, it has a huge opportunity ahead of it as nuclear power demand increases. The most exciting thing here, however, is that the big turning point for the business is likely to take shape later in 2025. That's when RoPower, a Romanian power company, will make the final call on whether it will buy six SMRs from NuScale Power. Once the first deal is inked, additional deals are likely to be easier to come by. A lot has to go right for NuScale Power before it has a sustainably profitable business, making execution a risk to keep close tabs on. But if the dominos keep falling into place, the nuclear renaissance could lead to material long-term gains for early investors in this growth stock. Matt DiLallo (Constellation Energy): Constellation Energy is the country's leader in producing nuclear power by a wide margin. It currently owns 22.1 gigawatts (GWs) of competitive nuclear power generation capacity, nearly four times that of rival Vistra (6.3 GWs). Unlike utilities that own power generation assets and distribute the electricity to customers, Constellation sells the power it produces to other utilities and large corporate customers under long-term, fixed-rate power purchase agreements (PPAs). This strategy can enable it to cash in on higher power rates. The company is investing heavily on expanding its clean energy operations. It signed a deal with Microsoft late last year to support the restart of its Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear plant, which it shut down several years ago for economic reasons. However, Microsoft's need for clean power to support its cloud and AI growth led the tech giant to sign a 20-year contract for all the power produced from this nuclear plant when it comes back online in 2028. Constellation is also exploring other nuclear power growth opportunities, including SMRs. On top of that, Constellation is investing in other cleaner energy sources, like renewables and natural gas. It's in the process of significantly expanding its leading clean power operations by acquiring Calpine, which is a leader in natural gas and geothermal energy. These investments position Constellation to deliver powerful earnings growth in the coming years. It's on track to grow its adjusted operating earnings at a more than 13% compound annual rate through 2030 on a stand-alone basis. It can grow even faster if it closes its Calpine deal. Meanwhile, the nuclear resurgence could power additional growth over the longer term. Neha Chamaria (Cameco): President Trump wants to speed up the design and build-out of nuclear reactors and quadruple the nation's nuclear energy capacity by 2050 to make it a major source of power. However, while investors expect companies building nuclear reactors and generating nuclear energy to be the biggest beneficiaries from Trump's pro-nuclear stance, the supply side of the equation is going unnoticed. The thing is, nuclear power plants run on uranium. That means demand for uranium should rise, too, as more nuclear reactors come online. That makes a stock like Cameco a solid pick to play Trump's nuclear renaissance. Cameco was, in fact, hugely bullish about the uranium industry before Trump signed the executive order. Earlier in May, Cameco estimated that nearly 70% of the total estimated uranium fuel requirements of nuclear reactors worldwide through 2045 remain uncovered. In other words, upcoming nuclear reactors will have to buy nearly 3.2 billion pounds of uranium to power their plants. For perspective, only around 119 million pounds of uranium were contracted by utilities in 2024 under long-term contracts. Since Cameco is one of the largest uranium producers in the world, its outlook is closely followed by the uranium and nuclear energy industry. Cameco is already witnessing an uptick in long-term uranium contracting activity. To top that, Cameco also owns a 49% stake in Westinghouse Electric, which supplies nuclear technology, equipment, fuel, and services for nuclear reactors. Westinghouse, therefore, provides an edge to Cameco over other uranium miners. Cameco is also a financially strong company and has even paid a dividend every year since 1991, also increasing it by 33% last year. Combine all of it, and Cameco looks like a smart nuclear stock to buy and hold. Before you buy stock in NuScale Power, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and NuScale Power wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $651,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $828,224!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 979% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Matt DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Constellation Energy and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Cameco and NuScale Power and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Stocks to Buy to Ride the Nuclear Power Renaissance was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Korea's Presidential Front-Runner Backs Nuclear Power — for Now
South Korea's presidential front-runner Lee Jae-myung has pledged to keep nuclear power 'for the time being,' but plans a long-term shift to renewables if elected June 3 — a stance that could undermine the nation's atomic energy expansion plans at home and abroad. Lee, a member of the opposition Democratic Party, unveiled an 'energy expressway' policy framework that relies on renewables, like offshore wind, to supply industrial hubs. His strategy calls for phasing out coal by 2040, curbing consumption of natural gas, and forming a ministry tasked with meeting South Korea's 2050 net zero goal.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
The Uncertainty of The Trump Tariff Strategy
This week, a tug-of-war over the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs imposed using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. The Court of International Trade blocked President Trump's tariffs, arguing the act did not give the President unbounded tariff authority. The White House economic team is confident the administration will defeat this legal challenge, with an appeals court already ruling that these tariffs can remain in effect pending the appeal. FOX News Sunday anchor Shannon Bream joins the Rundown to highlight this legal challenge to the President's tariffs, Elon Musk's departure from the Trump administration, and investigations being launched into the Biden administration. President Trump wants a lot more nuclear power production in the United States, signing executive orders a week ago focused on quadrupling U.S. capacity within 25 years. Nuclear power has long been associated with high-profile disasters and fears of mishaps, but nuclear advocates say it actually is cleaner and safer than fossil fuels. Jacob DeWitte is the co-founder and CEO of nuclear technology company Oklo, and he was at the executive order signing. He joins the podcast to explain the strides made in making nuclear reactors safer and more efficient. Plus, commentary from FOX News Digital columnist David Marcus. Photo Credit: AP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
