Nuclear Innovations for a Clean Energy Future: Interview with Dillon Allen, Senior Manager of Nuclear Projects at Entergy [Recognizing the 2023 Energy Central Innovation Champions]
Earlier this year, Energy Central dispatched our annual call for nominations for power professionals leading the way in Innovation, and we're proud to announce the 5 winners and 4 honorable mentions, which you can read about here. This week, we'll be spotlighting each of those winners after conducting interviews to learn more about their great work.
Please help us celebrate Dillon’s and the other champions' successes by reading some of the insights garnered from these exclusive Innovation Champion Interviews.
While nuclear energy has been around for multiple generations of utility professionals, new excitement and opportunity pervades the role for the carbon-free energy source in the years to come. From small modular nuclear to nuclear fusion progress to identifying opportunities for optimization and improvement in safety, efficiency, and waste management, nuclear energy is experiencing something of a renaissance moment. That evolution is taking hold at the utility level in very real ways thanks to the innovative thinking and novel approaches of certain leaders, such as Dillon Allen, Senior Manager of Nuclear Projects and Advanced Nuclear Development at Entergy.
In response to our call for nominations for Innovation Champions on Energy Central, Dillon was identified by peers in the industry for his efforts to develop and deploy advanced nuclear reactors in Entergy’s service area, including a focus on decreasing risks, eliminating roadblocks, and finding additional opportunities for the technology as Entergy pursues their net-zero by 2050 aspirations.
To recognize Dillon as a selected Innovation Champion, keep reading for the exclusive interview conducted with him where the current developments and future opportunities for innovative nuclear development are discussed.
Matt Chester: Congratulations on being selected as one of our Champions of Innovation for 2023! Can you tell us a bit about your role in the utility sector and how you got started in this space?
Dillon Allen: I wanted to be an astronaut and assumed being a pilot in the Navy was a solid bet. They didn’t take pilots with 20/600 vision, however, so I attempted to join the submarine force. A training injury redirected me to Naval Reactors Headquarters, or NR, the Navy’s cradle-to-grave owner of nuclear propulsion. At NR, I participated in the design and construction of USS VIRGINIA (SSN 774) Class and USS GERALD R FORD (CVN 78) Class propulsion plants. As it turns out, Entergy, whose nuclear headquarters is based in my hometown of Jackson, MS, was investigating building some new nuclear units. My nuclear design, construction, testing, and commissioning experience and a penchant for hanging out in Mississippi as much as possible made us the perfect match. I’ve had the opportunity to work on projects at every nuclear unit in our fleet as well as projects outside nuclear across our enterprise.
My current role is four-fold, which keeps life interesting. I manage the commercial relationships with our largest nuclear vendors, manage the logistics efforts for the enterprise in preparation and response to natural disasters or other incidents, serve as the Vice Chair of our company’s Leadership Employee Resource Group to help current and aspiring leaders develop, and last but certainly not least, lead Entergy’s advanced nuclear development efforts.