Duke Energy is hoping to get a share of federal funding to help develop next-generation small-scale nuclear reactors of the kind that could go into its Belews Creek station after its planned decommissioning as a coal plant in 10 years. Charlotte-based Duke Energy announced Friday it has joined an application led by the Tennessee Valley Authority for the U.S. Department of Energy’s U.S. Gen III+ small modular reactor technology grant. The agency has $900 million available for up to two teams of utilities, reactor vendors, builders, and end-users to develop and deploy a plant using the small reactors. The funding also includes support for working out barriers to the next generation of nuclear reactors in design, licensing, supplier development, and site preparation. Read the full story on the Triad Business Journal’s website.