Nuclear Development 101: Why Renewables Developers Should Start Paying Attention

Our recent Nuclear Development 101 webinar brought together Ted Coulter (Lead Development Engineer, Advanced Nuclear Advisors) and Dave Wolpert (Sr. Director, Product Marketing, Transect) for a practical walk-through of nuclear’s next chapter. The session covered the basics of how nuclear generates power, the current reactor landscape from proven AP1000s to SMRs and microreactors, and why demand growth and policy tailwinds are putting nuclear back on the table.

Let's go over some of the main highlights of the webinar. 

Why Nuclear? Why Now?

Load growth is exploding due to data centers, advanced manufacturing, even bitcoin, and interconnection queues are straining. Many teams are asking whether they can site reliable, carbon-free generation behind the meter to bypass grid bottlenecks. Nuclear fits that moment: it’s 24/7 baseload with a small footprint and no direct carbon emissions. Or, as Ted put it, “Nuclear can operate 24/7/365 through all kinds of weather with no direct carbon emissions.”

How Nuclear Works

At the simplest level: split uranium, make heat, boil water, spin a turbine. The takeaway isn’t the physics, it’s the project profile: extremely high capacity factors and far more megawatts per acre than most alternatives. Ted pointed to Plant Vogtle’s new AP1000 units as an example of how much power can be produced on surprisingly little land when siting is done right.

The Reactor Landscape

Reactors now vary in form factor. Gigawatt-scale light-water designs (like AP1000) are proven and still moving forward in select places. SMRs bring 80–300 MW blocks that can be manufactured in modules and shipped to site, a format that may suit industrial campuses and utility sites. Microreactors push that concept even smaller, opening possibilities for remote or mission-critical loads. If you want to sanity-check what’s real, Ted recommends the NRC’s advanced reactor pre-application list. It’s a quick way to separate marketing slides from active projects.

Where Projects Pencil, and How Teams are Screening Sites Faster

Early deployments are most likely at retired nuclear or coal-to-nuclear sites where transmission, cooling water, logistics, and community familiarity already exist. From there, attention turns to behind-the-meter industrial loads and select greenfield locations with the right flood/seismic profile and access for heavy components. This is where Transect has been helping teams move faster: rapid desktop screening to rule sites in or out early.

What Feels Familiar and What Doesn’t

If you come from renewables, you’ll recognize land control, environmental due diligence, and the importance of community engagement. What’s different is the licensing and safety regime. Timelines are much longer, rare flood and seismic events need consideration, and emergency planning zones must be included. Cooling needs vary by design. Some high-temperature systems operate at atmospheric pressure and use significantly less water, details that broaden siting options if you choose the right technology for the site.

Financing is Evolving to Match the Asset

Capital intensity is real, but the deal structures are changing. The market is experimenting with long-term PPAs and customer-backed models that shift risk away from ratepayers and make first-of-a-kind deployments more financeable. Ted highlighted collaborations that pair utilities, private capital, and end-users as a sign of where things are headed.

Watch the full webinar on-demand:

Nuclear Development 101 - Access the Recording

About Advanced Nuclear Advisors

Advanced Nuclear Advisors (ANA) specializes in advisory services and project development within the advanced nuclear energy sector. ANA "jump-starts" site development for data centers, industrial users, and utilities that are looking to deploy nuclear capacity. Visit their website to learn more. https://www.advancednuclearadvisors.com