Hawai'i State Energy Office Releases Study on Advanced Nuclear Power Technologies

In December 2025, the Hawai'i State Energy Office (HSEO) submitted a report on Advanced Nuclear Power Technology to the Hawai'i State Legislature. HSEO had convened a working group in accordance with SCR 136 to study (1) the feasibility of using advanced nuclear power technologies in the state; (2) the benefits, risks, and barriers to developing and using advanced nuclear power technologies in the state; and (3) the potential short term and long term nuclear energy goals for the state. This report outlined the key findings and recommendations from the working group and also outlined technology basics, health and environmental impacts, costs, and other considerations around nuclear energy. Overall, the working group concluded that Hawai?i should not serve as a test site for reactor demonstration projects and that other states are better positioned to host initial deployments. Some of the issues raised were around commercial viability and technical readiness, costs and finance structures, grid integration, and waste storage. Hawai'i will continue to monitor advancements in these areas and explore an updated version of the report.