WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
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WHAT → happen → ?
Granite Stater Callie is missing New Hampshire this week as much of the state, along with Maine and Vermont, is experiencing peak foliage.
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much → miss → foliage
Some are saying it’s the best fall foliage to hit the region in years.
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it → say → years
Back in D.C., we’ve been taking a look at how nuclear power plants across the country are starting to integrate AI into their operations.
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plants → take → operations
What does that look like?
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that → look → What
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you → send → you
If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
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we → sign → list
HOW NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE EMBRACING AI:
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PLANTS → embrace → AI
By the end of the year, many nuclear plants in the United States will be using artificial intelligence.
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plants → use → intelligence
No, the technology will not be used to run the power plants themselves.
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technology → use → plants
But it will be used to assist with and streamline operations.
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it → use → operations
Let’s back up: In November 2024, California’s only nuclear energy facility, Diablo Canyon, became the first nuclear plant in the U.S. to adopt AI systems.
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facility → let → systems
The plant’s operator, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, said it was partnering with nuclear AI startup Atomic Canyon on the project.
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it → say → project
The systems, supported by Nvidia, are designed to process decades’ worth of data and documents, facilitating regulatory planning and other tasks.
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systems → support → planning
Now, Atomic Canyon is deploying the technology on a nationwide scale to help the industry meet surging demand brought about by AI itself.
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industry → deploy → AI
“Nuclear power will clearly be essential to America’s artificial intelligence leadership,” Atomic Canyon founder Trey Lauderdale told Daily on Energy.
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Lauderdale → tell → Energy
“But that relationship needs to run both ways where we need purpose-built AI that can help the nuclear industry operate the existing fleet, preserve that institutional knowledge, and through that enable us to build out new capacity.”
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industry → need → capacity
In mid-August, Atomic Canyon announced that a new AI platform, known as the Nuclear Industry Virtual Assistant (or NIVA), was now available.
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platform → announce → Assistant
This AI assistant was developed in collaboration with the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), the Electric Power Research Institute, and the Nuclear Energy Institute.
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assistant → develop → Operations
It is specifically powered by the AI systems deployed at Diablo Canyon as well as an AI-run retrieval engine called FERMI, which was trained on tens of millions of pages worth of documents from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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which → power → Commission
What does it do?
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it → do → What
Lauderdale spoke with Callie in the weeks after the August launch, explaining there are two primary functions of NIVA.
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Lauderdale → speak → NIVA
The first is a knowledge assistant agent, also referred to as “KA.”
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first → refer → KA
“The best way to think about that is the knowledge assistant, it tells you kind of what the authoritative nuclear sources say,” Lauderdale said.
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Lauderdale → think → what
He explained that nuclear power plant employees can use the KA to quickly sort through what federal regulations apply when evaluating a specific type of plant modification.
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regulations → explain → modification
When providing the necessary information, the AI system will also provide specific citations to allow for human-based verification.
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system → provide → verification
“Think of it as like a research assistant for nuclear professionals,” he said.
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he → think → professionals
The second function of NIVA is an “operating experience assistant.”
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function → operate → NIVA
Lauderdale explained this technology is meant to provide all the information necessary to workers when a nuclear power facility encounters an equipment issue or unusual condition.
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facility → explain → issue
It will cross-reference similar instances at other facilities and provide workers with information on what actions were then taken and what their outcomes were.
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outcomes → cross → information
Who plans to use this technology?
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Who → plan → technology
Lauderdale said Atomic Canyon plans to deploy the NIVA system to around 15,000 nuclear workers nationwide.
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Canyon → say → workers
The AI is being made available to the entire North American nuclear fleet and it will be released to all members of INPO.
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it → make → INPO
If you were not aware, INPO comprises every utility and energy company that operates one of the existing U.S. nuclear power plants, or is licensed to construct one.
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that → comprise → one
Lauderdale told Daily on Energy he expects “a majority” of INPO members to adopt the tech before the end of the year.
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majority → tell → year
One of the early adopters of the technology is Constellation Energy, which operates 21 reactors across 12 plants.
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which → operate → plants
These facilities are located in Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, and Texas.
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facilities → locate → Illinois
What it won’t do: It’s important to clarify that as the AI tech is deployed, it will not be authorized or capable of making critical decisions at nuclear power plants.
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it → do → plants
Lauderdale said he believes human management will remain crucial to nuclear operations for a very long time, if not indefinitely, given how heavily regulated the nuclear energy industry is.
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industry → say → time
“The AI is not anywhere near ready – in a position to run or make decisions for a nuclear power plant,” he said.
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he → run → plant
…and 41 more, not listed.
The Aporia
