American nuclear energy just reached a milestone decades in the making. Is the ‘renaissance’ finally happening? - The Lion
A nuclear energy startup beat the clock by a month when its advanced reactor reached a milestone pivotal for safe operation, advancing a goal set by President Donald Trump last year. Trump signed a series of executive orders in May of 2025 that called for ...
As to the regulation issues pointed out. It’s likely long past time those change. But at the same time it’s not like American Companies don’t have a long and fairly extensive track record of lying about Medical Issues and long term effects of their products and procedures. As well as hiding or obscuring evidence of such effects.
So changes to Nuclear regulations will be a rather delicate procedure. Especially because the effects of cutting corners or other things corporate America does to save a nickel. Could have effects far beyond people’s immediate health when it comes to doing it with Nuclear Reactors.
As to the question in your title. Potentially. Most of it depends on how quickly they can scale up production and produce reactors as well as bringing them online. Not to mention dealing with the States. As some State Governments are liable to cause rollouts problems and feud over turf and whose precisely in charge of what.
The linear no-threshold (LNT) model needs to be thrown out. There is ample evidence of a hormesis (healing inducing) effect at very low levels. At a specific low level, the net effect of radiation is beneficial, not detrimental. (The argument is that at a lower level, radiation stimulates the immune system to be more active than otherwise. At higher levels, radiation causes more damage than the immune system can nullify.)
It says it "non light water" but how is it cooled? Where's the beef?
Lived next to two reactors for nearly 5 years on board the IKE. Had a dosemeter hanging on the wall next to my rack. Also had a dosemeter hanging in the sun outside the bridge. The dosemeter outside the bridge registered more radiation. The one by my rack never budged from zero.
fission, not fusion. oh well
Fission works. Fusion has been the world's oldest pipe dream, and the idea that it is waste-free is baloney. No reaction "ash" to speak of, but the reactor components (first wall) are subjected to long term, intense neutron flux and become radioactive over time. And one of the nuclear fuel components (tritium) must be manufactured in fission reactors.
As for fission reactors, the U.S. Navy's nuclear reactors have logged over 5,400 reactor years of accident-free operations. Hardly anyone knows this. The government has been standing in the way of extensive safe electric power for half a century.
"...recent Gallup polling found Americans are now more likely to want a nuclear power plant built near them than an AI data center."
That certainly says something about nukes, AI or both.