CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Nuclear Company, a fleet-scale nuclear development company, today announced the appointment of industry veteran Joe Klecha as Chief Nuclear Officer. With three decades of experience managing projects valued at more than $35 billion and built by teams of more than 11,000, Klecha brings unparalleled expertise to the role. The announcement coincided with The Nuclear Company’s “The Nuclear Frontier” national campaign tour visit to Charlotte, N.C., for an event hosted by steel producer Nucor.
Klecha’s decades-spanning career includes leadership roles across major nuclear operators:
- Southern Company: Klecha was tasked with taking over the building of Vogtle units 3 and 4 in the midst of the ongoing project. Klecha had previously served as operations director for Vogtle units 1 and 2.
- Duke Energy: Klecha served as fleet operations director overseeing six nuclear power stations.
- Constellation: Rapidly promoted over the course of a decade, Klecha held roles that included oversight of 2.2 gigawatts of nuclear power generation as a licensed senior reactor operator.
- U.S. Navy: Honored with seven Navy Achievement Medals, Klecha led operations and maintenance of a nuclear reactor and steam propulsion plant, as well as a deep submergence nuclear research submarine.
The Nuclear Company emerged from stealth mode earlier this month with the mission to address America’s surging energy demand driven by AI data computing, onshoring manufacturing, and the electrification of everything. The International Energy Agency projects global electricity demand will increase nearly 30 percent by 2030 — the equivalent of adding the energy requirements of another United States and European Union combined. Despite the need for nuclear’s zero-carbon power, the biggest challenge facing the industry is that one-off nuclear projects almost always are over budget and behind schedule. The Nuclear Company’s model avoids these pitfalls.
The company’s fleet-scale model combines using proven, licensed technology and a design-once, build-many approach with developing coalitions across communities, regulators and financial stakeholders. The Nuclear Company is committed to delivering safe and reliable electricity at the lowest cost. This is accomplished by developing standardized processes and scheduling in order to sequence work and minimize delays, including moving construction expertise from one site to the next immediately to improve efficiency.
“Joe’s unparalleled experience in managing large-scale nuclear projects is precisely what we need as we commit to building the fleet-scale nuclear power that America needs now,” said The Nuclear Company Co-founder and Chair Patrick Maloney. “Joe’s expertise will be critical to our success as we work to address our country’s surging energy demand, secure our clean energy future and become a global leader in nuclear once again.”
Added Klecha, “With the opening of Vogtle units 3 and 4, nuclear in America is finally ready to again build on the momentum we had in the 1970s and 1980s. I’ve seen firsthand our industry’s challenges but have also been there for our tremendous successes, which provide Americans with clean baseload power for decades. The Nuclear Company represents a once-in-a-century opportunity to ensure America remains the nuclear technology leader the world over.”
Klecha’s hiring comes as The Nuclear Company continues The Nuclear Frontier national campaign, which started in Pittsburgh at the annual conference held by U.S. Women in Nuclear. The 5,000-member group is led by Juliann Edwards, who serves as Chief Development Officer of The Nuclear Company.
“Joe’s eagerness to join The Nuclear Company is a testament to our industry-redefining business model that will dramatically improve how large-scale, nuclear infrastructure projects are delivered,” Edwards said.
About The Nuclear Company
The Nuclear Company is a fleet-scale nuclear development company using proven technology to construct a series of nuclear power plants across America. Through its design-once, build-many approach and coalition building across communities, regulators, and financial stakeholders, The Nuclear Company is committed to delivering safe and reliable electricity at the lowest cost, while catalyzing the nuclear industry toward rapid development in America and globally. For more information, visit: www.thenuclearcompany.com
