🚀First Major U.S. Nuclear Buildout in 15 Years

For the first time in over 15 years, a new full-scale nuclear power plant is being publicly planned in the U.S. — and it’s happening in New York.

Governor Kathy Hochul just did a mic drop on America’s clean energy future by announcing a 1 GW-scale plant in upstate NY.

That’s enough juice to power a million homes (or keep 40,000 Manhattan espresso machines running nonstop.)

The project will be led by the New York Power Authority (NYPA), with the orders to: build clean, build fast, and build something that doesn’t break the grid (or the budget).

NYPA is working with Constellation Energy (the biggest U.S. nuclear operator) to explore sites, likely near one of its three existing NY plants — with Nine Mile Point as the early frontrunner.

New York shut down Indian Point in 2021 (hello, emissions rebound). That left a big clean energy gap — one renewables alone haven’t filled, and Trump’s May executive orders gave states new ammo to bypass the usual NRC slog.

New York is also looking north — studying Ontario’s plan to build four SMRs — and could even go modular if the economics line up. Hochul hinted it might be one big reactor, or a cluster of smaller ones.

📊 Why it matters:

• It’s a test case for Trump’s nuclear permitting reforms

• It signals a mainstream comeback for nuclear in blue states

• And it shows how energy policy is shifting from scarcity to abundance

If this works, it won’t just be about 1 GW. It could be the start of a nuclear domino effect in other states facing the same power crunch.

⚡TL;DR: New York is going nuclear again — planning a 1 GW advanced reactor with public funding and Constellation’s help. It’s the first major new U.S. nuclear build in over a decade, and a critical test of both Hochul’s clean energy credibility and Trump’s regulatory overhaul.

💥 Oh, by the way. Nuclear Update Premium dropped on Saturday, and it’s still free (for now).

The first edition is live and packed with:

• Our uranium & nuclear portfolio (with buy/hold/watch signals)

• Insider moves, market cycle heat checks, and sector sentiment

• Deep-dive analysis from me and @TriangleInvestor

We’re keeping it free just for the launch. Next week? Paywall’s going up.

👉 Read it here before it disappears

🤯Texas Files to Build 4x AP1000s

Everything’s bigger in Texas—including the ambition to revive U.S. nuclear.

Rick Perry—a former Texas governor and U.S. energy secretary—has launched Fermi America, a Texas-based energy developer focused on pairing nuclear power with hyperscale AI infrastructure.

The company just filed plans to build four large-scale reactors.

Why? They want to power what would be the largest data center campus on Earth, to be named (unironically) the Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus.

The plan: 4 AP1000 reactors delivering 4 GW of nuclear, plus 7 GW of natural gas backup, and 18 million square feet of hyperscale compute.

Oh, and each reactor would be named after the current president. Sure, perfect, no feedback—carry on.

Fermi America is hoping to start construction in 2026, with the aim to have the full site online by 2032. Fermi says its remote location and Trump-era NRC reforms will help streamline approvals and speed things up.

Unlike New York’s state-backed clean grid effort, this is a private megaproject—designed to power massive data infrastructure, not public homes. And while it's further along in terms of filing (submitted to the NRC), it’s not yet funded or approved.

It is however the largest private nuclear proposal in U.S. history aiming to reframe nuclear as a tool for tech dominance.

🎥 Could I Drink Nuclear Reactor Water?

Finally the answer to the question we have all asked ourselves: is the water around the core of the nuclear reactor clean enough to drink? 😂

🎉Trump Plans More Executive Orders

As reported by Reuters, Trump is planning another batch of executive orders aimed at slashing permitting delays, fast-tracking grid connections, and offering federal land to build data centers in an “AI Action Plan”, expected by July 23.

The moves are part of a broader strategy to dominate the AI arms race with China, but behind the tech headlines is a looming energy crunch—and another push towards nuclear.

The numbers are staggering: U.S. power demand is growing five times faster than expected just two years ago. And Deloitte says AI data center demand alone could rise 30x by 2035.

Back in January, Trump declared a national energy emergency, naming nuclear—alongside oil, gas, and coal—as essential to national security and AI competitiveness.

Now the upcoming July 23 “AI Action Plan” could tie it all together—pairing advanced reactors with federal land, streamlined permits, and hyperscaler demand.

🎙️ U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, went on the air last week to confirm that nuclear is “one of the administration’s top goals.”

He also previewed nationwide permitting reform, efforts to cut project timelines from years to months, and new incentives for hyperscalers to bankroll nuclear builds through long-term power contracts.

“Nuclear might be more expensive at first, but AI giants want it. They’ll pay for it,” he said.

Watch the full clip of Chris Wright breaking down nuclear’s role in AI, national defense, and energy dominance.👇

💵How Radiation Guards Billions

Welcome back to Atomic Alternatives—where we explore the weird, wild, and wonderfully underrated ways nuclear tech shows up in everyday life.

This week’s spotlight: bank vaults.

Because when it comes to guarding billions, “good enough” just won’t cut it. Enter: radiation-based intrusion sensors.

These vault systems often rely on gamma-ray or neutron-based detectors that act like invisible bodyguards for the vault walls. The principle? Radiographic density detection.

Here’s how it works:

Vault walls are constantly scanned with a low-level radiation beam emitted from a secure source (think sealed radioactive isotope or compact neutron generator).

On the other side, sensors measure the intensity of what gets through. If someone starts drilling, melting, or even messing with the structural integrity, the material density shifts—and the radiation signature changes instantly.

Unlike basic vibration or motion sensors, these systems can see through thick concrete and metal, spotting microscopic changes that no camera or microphone could catch.

They’re so sensitive, they can detect things like internal corrosion, stress fractures… or, you know, an Ocean’s Eleven-style heist in progress.

It’s also incredibly tamper-resistant. You can’t spoof gamma rays with a fake wall—or sneak through with stealth tools—because the system’s constantly checking that the physical makeup of the vault hasn’t budged.

🔒 TL;DR: Some of the most secure bank vaults on Earth use gamma rays and neutron sensors to detect tampering from the inside out. It's not just high-security—it’s nuclear-security.

😂Meme of The Week

Until next time—stay curious, stay critical (like a reactor core), and may your takes be hotter than a pebble-bed at full tilt. 🔥⚛️

– Fredrik
📬[email protected]
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