Nuclear

President Biden signs pro-nuclear ADVANCE Act into law

The ADVANCE Act includes opportunities for reduced application fees and NRC staffing increases to expedite the licensing process.

President Biden signs pro-nuclear ADVANCE Act into law

President Joe Biden signed legislation aimed at accelerating new nuclear reactors in the U.S.

The ‘‘Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act of 2024,” or ADVANCE Act, aims to speed up permitting and create new incentives for the buildout of advanced reactors.

The act would direct the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to find ways to speed up its licensing process for new nuclear technology. The legislation would also reduce regulatory costs for companies seeking to license these new reactor technologies, as well as direct the NRC to enhance its ability to qualify and license accident-tolerant fuels and advanced nuclear fuels.

The act would also aid in the development of advanced reactors in other countries by empowering the NRC to take an international leadership role in creating regulations for advanced nuclear reactors. Additionally, it would instruct the U.S. Department of Energy to enhance its process for approving the export of U.S. technology to global markets, while upholding stringent nuclear non-proliferation standards.

Energy demand in the U.S. is expected to grow over the next decade, driven by EV infrastructure, data centers and manufacturing

“Nuclear will be part of that solution, which is why the United States has already committed to tripling our nuclear capacity and is making moves to help secure our clean energy future,” said the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy. 

To reclaim leadership in the nuclear reactor industry, the United States must adopt a coherent national strategy and a “whole-of-government” approach, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a nonpartisan research institute, said in recent report. This would require several key steps.

First, federal R&D and regulatory agencies would need sufficient staffing to support innovation, down-selection, regulatory approval and deployment of new reactor types. Second, incentives, tax credits and attractive financing would need to be provided to facilitate the production of cost-competitive nuclear energy.

Additionally, policies such as streamlined export credit programs would be necessary to support exports from U.S. nuclear reactor producers.