The Healey administration last week launched a four-month effort to chart a course for further exploration of advanced nuclear and fusion energy technologies for both power generation and other applications, teaming up with the UMass campus that hosts one of 25 research reactors in the country.
The recent revival of interest in nuclear power among Massachusetts policymakers comes as the offshore wind industry that Democrats here have long promised is both floundering and out of favor with the Trump administration. Gov. Maura Healey said the “Advanced Nuclear and Fusion Energy Roadmaps” being developed with the University of Massachusetts Lowell will focus on how Massachusetts can promote the industry with an eye towards the potential to get cheaper and more reliable power from it in the future.
“Massachusetts has the ingredients to be a world-class leader in advanced nuclear and fusion energy – technologies that provide affordable power, good jobs and significant economic development,” the governor said in a release last week. “There is nationwide interest in the potential of advanced nuclear and fusion energy technologies. Our partnership with UMass Lowell will help us leverage our strengths to lower costs and grow these industries in Massachusetts.”
Sukesh Aghara, a professor of nuclear engineering and associate dean for research at UMass Lowell’s engineering school, will lead the project, the governor’s office said.
The final products, the administration said, will “outline steps to leverage Massachusetts’ existing innovation ecosystem, scale workforce development programs to support long-term industry growth, develop strategies for inclusive community engagement, and coordinate planning efforts with other New England states.” They will not consider specific sites or “restarting decommissioned facilities,” the announcement said.
There are two nuclear power plants currently operating in New England — Millstone Nuclear Power Plant in Connecticut and Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant in New Hampshire — with nuclear energy meeting between 20% and 25% of New England’s annual power demand.
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Massachusetts’s last nuclear plant, ceased operations in 2019 and is being decommissioned. But Energy Secretary Rebecca Tepper said nuclear power “looks a lot different in 2025.” The administration has previously talked up studies on “small modular reactors,” which have smaller footprints than traditional nuclear plants, require less frequent refueling, and some units can be prefabricated and assembled on-site.
“With electricity demand growing, there is significant interest in exploring cutting-edge small modular reactors and fusion power plants,” the Healey administration said. “The New England states are working together, with support from the National Governors Association, to explore potential investment models for the deployment of advanced nuclear and fusion energy technologies.”
An energy bill Healey filed this spring would eliminate the requirement that new nuclear facilities in Massachusetts secure approval of a majority of voters through a statewide ballot initiative, a requirement that voters put in place in 1982. That bill got a hearing in June but it has not advanced in the Legislature.
Fusion power plants are already excluded from the requirement, the Healey administration said, but the change “would keep Massachusetts competitive as other nuclear technology advances such as small modular reactors.” Since 2020, eight of the 14 states with similar nuclear moratoriums have eased limitations, the administration said.
A recent poll of 750 likely Bay State voters, conducted by Advantage, Inc. for the Fiscal Alliance Foundation and released last week, showed a narrow majority of voters here, 50.8%, support building new nuclear power facilities in New England. Of the respondents who support the idea, 84.5% said Massachusetts should take the regional lead.
In its announcement of the roadmaps plan, the Healey administration said UMass Lowell and MIT each have a nuclear research reactor, two of the 25 that exist nationally. UMass Lowell offers a program for students to secure a reactor operator license.
“The nuclear research conducted within Massachusetts forms the foundation for numerous world-leading industries, including energy, defense, heath care, and biomedical applications, notably cancer research,” the administration said.
The Healey administration said to expect the roadmaps to be released in early 2026.
