When its first nuclear power plant went online in 1957, America seemed poised to embrace nuclear energy. In recent years, however, interest in nuclear power has resurged as America’s energy demands continue to rise. They could be installed on barges and serve as floating nuclear power plants, bringing power where it’s needed by ocean or sea. Nuclear energy, on the other hand, “doesn’t emit carbon, can operate 24/7, and is very reliable,” Gehin says. And they run autonomously, requiring a staff of one to two people to keep things on track instead of the army employed at traditional nuclear power plants.