The Biden administration on Tuesday opened applications for a $6 billion program to help nuclear power plants struggling with rising costs as it seeks to stop the generators from shutting down under its goal of transitioning to clean energy. The U.S. nuclear power industry’s 93 reactors generate more than half of the country’s carbon-free electricity, according to the Department of Energy (DOE). But 12 reactors have closed since 2013 in the face of competition from renewable energy and plants that burn plentiful natural gas. In addition, safety costs have soared after the 2011 tsunami at Japan’s Fukushima plant and after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The industry produces toxic waste, currently […]