In a world where we have oil rigs and wind turbines located offshore, could this initiative result in floating nuclear power plants? Callie spoke with NANO Nuclear Energy, an advanced nuclear energy company exploring offshore opportunities, to find out. 

What it would look like: NANO Nuclear CEO James Walker is skeptical that the push will result in an offshore nuclear power plant – at least along the East and West Coasts of the U.S. 

Walker told Callie that building a nuclear power plant on land, while expensive, is much more financially viable than offshore. On land, developers don’t need to transport employees or materials via ships. 

In general, building any energy project offshore is more expensive. For 2024, the International Renewable Energy Agency found that installed costs for offshore wind were more than double the cost of those built onshore.  

Walker said that the exception would be in a country where nuclear energy development is restricted on land due to political or environmental reasons. 

“You could have some sort of floating vessel with a reactor system, and you could run power to shore, but I think these are very niche ideas.” 

Instead, Walker said, nuclear power will more likely be deployed as small modular reactors on ships, at onshore ports and refineries, or even on an offshore oil platform. 

How difficult would this be? Deploying nuclear energy isn’t difficult, Walker said, as the technology is already there. But, projects are still likely to run into delays. He explained that developers will need to prove to licensing agencies that they have done an evaluation of all the safety scenarios that can be applied. 

“Say it goes to sea, okay, a boat hits it,” Walker said. “What’s the fission event? What’s the risk there? If it sinks, does that matter? How does it shut down? Does it cause an issue to the ocean?”

If developers can succeed in allaying regulators’ fears about the dangers, he said, maritime nuclear power could be deployed as early as the early 2030s. 

Projects already underway: NANO Nuclear is currently developing portable and stationary micro modular reactors that can produce anywhere between 1 and 20 megawatts of thermal energy. Walker told Callie that the company has been approached by several companies in the oil and gas industry interested in using these reactors to power their operations. 

“There’s really an appetite there,” Walker said, noting that most of these firms are having to wait until the technology is sophisticated enough before signing any deals. As a reminder, there are currently no small modular reactors operational in the U.S. 

That hasn’t stopped all dealmaking, however. Earlier this summer, the Port of Long Beach in California signed a cooperation agreement with the federal Maritime Administration to establish safety standards for using small modular reactors to generate electricity used by the port.  

That project could run into some hurdles, however, most notably the state’s 50-year-old moratorium on new nuclear energy. State lawmakers, including several Democrats, are working to exempt advanced reactors from the temporary ban. 

All the rest

CLEAN ENERGY STILL MOVING FORWARD: While President Donald Trump has attempted to stifle development of wind and solar energy, a new report reveals that a record amount of clean energy is being added to the grid this year. 

The S&P Global Energy report, obtained by the Financial Times, revealed that clean energy additions will total 45 gigawatts this year – roughly 25% more than the record set in 2024. More than 30 gigawatts of the new addition will be utility-scale solar. 

Forty-five gigawatts worth of power is roughly equivalent to the average electricity demand from the entire country of Turkey, according to the outlet. 

While the administration has slashed federal subsidies for wind and solar, blocked federal reviews for renewable energy projects, and rolled back federal funding for green projects altogether, the growth is evidence that industry still plans to rely on clean energy. 

This is in part because of the data center and artificial intelligence boom, as tech developers are seeking quick-to-power resources to get their projects up and running. According to think-tank RMI, wind and solar projects typically have a lead time of less than two years. 

Key quote: “There was a campaign promise to go against renewables, but at the same time they’re realising that you can’t do without it,” Izzet Bensusan, the CEO of energy infrastructure investment firm Captona, told the outlet. “I don’t see a world where power demand is flattening out.”

WHERE VENEZUELAN OIL IS GOING: It’s been more than eight months since the U.S. ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and moved to rejuvenate the South American country’s oil industry – and the U.S. is reaping the benefits. 

Energy Under Secretary Kyle Haustveit revealed this week that about half of Venezuela’s oil exports are being sent to the U.S., according to Reuters.

“In the last couple of months, we’re seeing north of ​500,000 barrels of approximately half of the production coming out of Venezuela ⁠is coming to the United States to the refineries that were built specifically for ​that crude,” Haustveit said, calling it a “beautiful energy partnership.” 

U.S. officials estimate that Venezuela is producing around 1.25 million barrels a day, and its exports are expected to hit 1.245 million barrels a day by the end of the month. At this rate, exports have increased by around 19.7% this year so far. 

ANOTHER UKRAINIAN ARRESTED OVER NORD STREAM PIPELINE EXPLOSION: German officials have announced the arrest of a second Ukrainian national as part of its investigation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions. 

The suspect, identified as Vladimir Z., was arrested by Croatian police in the city of Pula earlier today, according to Bloomberg. He is believed to be a part of a group that used explosives to blow up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm four years ago. The man arrested today was identified as a trained scuba diver by officials. 

There has long been speculation as to who was responsible for the September 2022 attack, with Russia and Ukraine facing most of the blame. Ukrainian leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have denied culpability. However, in 2023, reports revealed that the CIA had uncovered a Ukrainian plan to blow up the pipelines three months before the attack occurred. 

There has been no determination if a country or entity backed the attack, and various investigations into the incident have been abandoned.

In case you forgot: German officials made their first arrest of a Ukrainian man over his alleged connection to the explosions in August of last year. Officials said they believed Serhii K was one of the “coordinators” of the attack. 

Nord Stream 1 was operational from 2011 to 2022. Gas flow was halted in 2022 by energy company Gazprom over Western sanctions against Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. 

DATA CENTERS THREATEN OHIO GOP SENATE SEAT, NRSC SAYS: The National Republican Senatorial Committee sent a private memo to AI companies warning that public opposition to data centers is harming incumbent Sen. Jon Husted in the Ohio Senate race, Axios reported today. 

“If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one,” the memo says. “This has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle.”

Axios said that GOP internal polling shows that data centers are deeply unpopular and reflects a broad unease with AI. Husted’s Democratic opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, has called him the “face of data centers in Ohio.” 

Plus, in related news: The Democratic nominee for governor in Nevada, Aaron Ford, has vowed to end tax breaks for data centers while the state audits each company. 

Nevada has provided tax breaks to 14 data centers, totaling around $461 million. Republican candidate and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo has supported data center development but has pledged to ensure they do not increase utility bills. 

CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSES RECORD HEAT IN EUROPEAN SEAS: Climate change has sent Mediterranean Sea surface temperatures to record highs, according to the scientists from World Weather Attribution. 

The groups said that the Western Mediterranean’s surface temperature reached 6 degrees Celsius hotter than normal in June. 

They added that climate change has increased temperatures in the Mediterranean by 2 degrees Celsius, with temperatures rising by 1.4 degrees Celsius in Iberian waters and 1.3 degrees Celsius in the Irish seas. Europe this summer has faced several intense heat waves and is the fastest warming continent in the world. 

ICYMI – SHAPIRO IMPOSES DATA CENTER RESTRICTIONS: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro yesterday signed an executive order placing restrictions on data center projects in the state. 

The order requires data center projects to obtain approval from local officials. Developers would be mandated to sign a legally binding agreement to pay for their own power, hire locally, promote community engagement, and follow water conservation standards. 

The governor would also be removing all data center projects from the state’s fast-track permitting program and nondisclosure agreements will not be allowed in the state under the new order. 

Shapiro, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, had previously embraced data center investments but growing public opposition has shifted his stance.  

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