Reexamining Nuclear Power in the Carolinas and Beyond (2025-2026)

Nuclear power has long played a major role in electricity generation in the southeastern United States, particularly in North Carolina, where it provides a substantial share of the state’s low‑carbon electricity. Renewed interest in nuclear development has emerged amid growing demand for reliable, low‑carbon energy and recent policy developments such as Duke Energy’s December 2025 Early Site Permit (ESP) application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for potential new nuclear development at the Belews Creek site.

Building on the work of a previous team, the 2025-2026 project team examined the historical and institutional foundations shaping nuclear energy development in the Carolinas. Team members investigated how regional political, economic and regulatory conditions influenced the growth of nuclear power across the twentieth and early twenty‑first centuries, with the goal of providing historical context relevant to contemporary energy policy debates.

Students organized into five research groups, each responsible for analyzing a distinct period in the region’s nuclear history. These periods ranged from the early development of electric utilities in the South (1904-1949) and the postwar expansion of nuclear technology (1949-1966), through the rapid growth of commercial nuclear power (1966-1978), the period of heightened regulatory scrutiny and public debate following accidents and cost overruns (1978-2013), and the emerging “new era” of nuclear development shaped by decarbonization goals and advanced reactor technologies (2013-2025). Across these analyses, the team identified enduring institutional alignments among research universities, business‑oriented political leadership, vertically integrated utilities and supportive regulatory frameworks that helped explain the region’s historical leadership in nuclear energy and its renewed interest in new nuclear capacity.

During the project, the team adapted to unexpected funding changes after a previously awarded National Endowment for the Humanities grant was canceled. In response, the team refocused its efforts on producing a policy‑relevant research publication through the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. Team members also visited the Barnwell Disposal Facility and the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant. The resulting work provides historical context for policymakers and stakeholders evaluating the future of nuclear power in the Carolinas and beyond.

Timing

Fall 2025 – Spring 2026

Team Outputs

Reexamining Nuclear Power in the Carolinas and Beyond (Team profile)

Reexamining Nuclear Power in the Carolinas and Beyond (Poster presentation at the Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, April 15, 2026)

Historical research report on nuclear power development in the Carolinas (Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability)

Archival research on institutional development of nuclear energy in the southeastern United States

Historical analyses of nuclear development periods from 1904-2025

Manuscript in progress

See related teams, Reexamining Nuclear Power in the Carolinas and Beyond (2024-2025) and Reexamining Nuclear Power in the Carolinas and Beyond (2026-2027)