OPINION | DAVID HESS
nuclear bright spot
It is time to get set for another celebration. As of May 2026, fuel loading has been completed at the Rooppur nuclear power plant. Keep the champagne bottles handy as Bangladesh’s first nuclear powerplant is approaching start-up.
David Hess, Senior VP DeepGeo
T IS GETTING HARD TO REMAIN OPTIMISTIC about things in 2026. International conflicts and tensions only seem to be rising, and nuclear plants are increasingly finding themselves drawn into them. The recent drone strike at Barakah especially has generated global headlines and sparked widespread condemnation. It may well have put a hold on
further nuclear energy development in the Middle East for the time being, although one hopes not. Attempts to update the non-proliferation treaty
remain stalled as the most recent review conference ended without a consensus on either updated text or commitments. This apparently marks 16 years of stasis, so it is hardly new, but the stagnation persists at a time when the nuclear weapons states are modernising their arsenals and the total number of weapons appears to be on the rise. The nuclear headlines at the moment all seem to
involve AI, drones and war. They make for heavy reading. At least the AI nuclear connection is nominally positive,
©Alexy Kovynev
given how a lack of reliable energy seems to be the main bottleneck constraining data centre additions in many regions. This has driven an uptick in energy demand and caused the Big Tech companies to start openly supporting nuclear technology development. And yet AI itself is hardly the most reassuring or
universally loved technology of recent years. As more and more skilled people find themselves redundant due to AI, and as tech leaders keep talking about scary boogeymen like Artificial General Intelligence, the marriage with nuclear energy sometimes feels a bit uncomfortable. Stakeholder-relations experts point out that data centres are less popular than nuclear power plants in many places. It feels weird to be the more popular partner for a change. Against this somewhat stormy outlook, the Bangladeshi nuclear energy programme is a bright spot. The programme has calmly carried on ever since the country’s leaders seriously embraced the energy source back in 2001. Construction agreements were signed with Rosatom in 2015, and first concrete was poured back in November 2017. While recognising the need for speedy nuclear
infrastructure development generally, the nine-year time frame for Bangladesh’s first nuclear power project actually seems reasonable given how it had to endure the COVID pandemic, a major currency devaluation (which increased the price), and the start of the Russia- Ukraine war. One is reminded that nuclear infrastructure development happens in a wider context and many factors are outside of industry’s ability to control. Perseverance is vital and the Bangladeshi political
leaders are to be commended for holding course. Hats must also be tipped to Rosatom for delivering this project through these challenging conditions – again demonstrating the Russian nuclear sector’s prowess at bringing new countries into the nuclear fold. Put simply, the successful construction of Rooppur
This isn’t just a power plant – it’s an example of nuclear development for the entire world, which is much more important. 14 | June 2026 |
www.neimagazine.com
nuclear plant is a big deal. When operational, the twin unit VVER 1200 facility will generate 2400 MW and is expected to provide about 10% of the country’s annual electricity generation. It should help to end load
Bangladesh – a
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