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Could Kansas get new nuclear reactors?

Companies are racing to roll out nuclear reactor designs that would be faster to build and could meet rising demand for energy from AI data centers. Two nuclear companies have proposals for new reactors in Kansas. Plus: Data centers are fundamentally changing the landscape for electric utilities in Missouri and beyond.

Two companies have revealed plans in recent weeks to potentially build nuclear reactors in Kansas. Their proposals are very different, but both are part of the race to open a new chapter in the history of U.S. nuclear power. Kansas News Service reporter Celia Llopis-Jepsen and editor Stephen Koranda explain.

As large data centers move into Missouri, they will require huge amounts of electricity. St. Louis Public Radio’s Kate Grumke spoke with Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School, about data centers' impact on the electric utility environment and your electricity bill.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, Jacob Smollen, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Emily Younker and Madeline Fox.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
Jacob Smollen is the 2025-2026 intern for KCUR Studios. Email him at jsmollen@kcur.org.
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
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