Energy Secretary Chris Wright praises industry milestones, cites $17.5 billion DOE loan commitment

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright praised recent private-sector advances in nuclear reactors and described the gathering at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls as a "nuclear Woodstock," telling participants that the nation is at a turning point for nuclear energy.

"It is truly exciting to be here at the nuclear Woodstock," Wright said, opening a speech in which he tied nuclear development to national security, economic opportunity and long-term prosperity. He credited the administrationfor setting bold goals and thanked companies and the local community for accelerating new reactor work.

Wright connected the present effort to past U.S. mobilizations in science by recounting the Manhattan Project and noting early civilian milestones in nuclear power. He said the first controlled power milestone near the site "turned on 4 light bulbs" on Dec. 20, 1951, and called Idaho National Laboratory a continuing center of nuclear innovation.

As evidence of recent progress, Wright named several private firms working on advanced reactors and transportable systems, including Radiant, Oklo, Deep Vision, Volar Atomics and Antares. He said an Antares reactor "ran critical" on June 4 and described a reactor that was transported by C-17 from Los Angeles to Utah and went critical on June 18. Wright told the audience he had "signed the authorization for aloe atomics," but did not specify the authority or regulatory status of that authorization in the remarks.

Wright also cited a recent federal financing announcement. "Two days ago, we had an announcement for a large 17 and a half billion dollar loan commitment to build 10 large scale 1.1 gigawatt reactors," he said, attributing the figure and scope to the Department of Energy. He described parallel DOE efforts to restart U.S. enrichment capability and to establish fuel-line programs intended to support the new reactors. Wright named a fuel supplier in the room (referred to in the transcript as "General Matter") and said new domestic fuel lines will power some of the advanced reactors.

The speech mixed historical perspective, administration credit and private-sector praise. Wright repeatedly emphasized that energy underpins national and economic security and argued the combination of federal support and private capital has shortened timelines for some companies to achieve reactor milestones. He closed by thanking Idaho National Laboratory, the local community and the companies he said are "driving the trajectory of American nuclear energy."

The transcript does not specify exact dates for the event, the precise terms or conditions of the $17.5 billion loan commitment, or regulatory details of the authorization Wright said he signed. Those details were not stated in the remarks.