Southern Company's Plant Vogtle nuclear power complex made history in 2023 by bringing the first new U.S. nuclear reactor built from scratch in the past 30 years online, according to a Fortune report.
The Georgia facility soon opened a second reactor, making Vogtle the nation's second-largest power station and, according to the company, the largest generator of clean energy in the country, producing approximately 4,800 megawatts.
While those are laudable achievements, the real breakthrough is the use of a new type of uranium fuel that's more highly enriched than traditional versions.
Company engineers loaded one of the site's legacy reactors with this new fuel, which was designed to withstand accidents, last longer without refueling, and generate less radioactive waste. It went online last April, the Fortune report explained.
"This is enabling us to get more out of those existing reactors than in the past," Jonathan Chavers, Southern Company's director of nuclear fuel and analysis, told Fortune. "It's a significant game changer for the industry."
Nuclear plants generate electricity from a process called nuclear fission, where the nucleus of an atom is split into smaller parts. This creates a chain reaction that releases heat and subsequently creates steam to power a turbine.
Data gathered by Pew Research shows that, as of 2024, the U.S. had 94 nuclear power reactors, including the one that went online in Georgia that year. These reactors collectively generated 18.6% of all U.S. electricity in 2023.
On a global scale, nuclear reactors provided 9% of the world's electricity, making it the second-largest clean energy source in the world, second only to hydroelectric power, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Traditionally, nuclear power plants use a specific type of uranium (U-235) for fission because its atoms split apart more easily.
After being separated from ore, a uranium concentrate is then sent to enrichment facilities to increase the level of U-235 to anywhere between 3% to 5%, and is then made into reactor fuel pellets and fuel rods.
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Lower energy bills 💸 The uranium fuel that Vogtle used was enriched above 5%, which the report explained was a first for commercial reactors in the U.S.
Fortune also inquired whether the company felt this breakthrough was a single step up in generational development. Ken Petersen, the former president of the American Nuclear Society and a retired nuclear fuel executive, apparently laughed at the suggestion.
"This is like going from a Generation I to a Generation IV," Petersen told the outlet. "It's really breathtaking. We're breaking barriers."
Although it requires regulation and oversight — with Plant Vogtle's staff of over 1,700 tasked with overseeing operations 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — nuclear power remains one of the cornerstones in diversifying clean-energy production, alongside solar, wind, and hydroelectric sources.
It helps to lower energy costs for consumers and provides energy security within the nation, reducing reliance on burning dirty fuels that spew planet-warming emissions.
While this advancement in uranium enrichment can help improve safety for nuclear power plants, the report explains that adoption may not happen until much further down the road.
As Baltimore-based energy provider Constellation told Fortune, "We would deploy these newer fuels in our reactors once they make the transition from research and development to a commercial offering."
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