A New Regulatory Paradigm for Advanced Nuclear Energy 

Nick Loris writes about a newly released C3 paper and the NRC’s updated rulemaking in The National Interest.

The NRC’s emerging rule changes could significantly reshape the cost, speed, and competitiveness of advanced nuclear deployment in the United States.

In the coming months, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will finalize a slate of rulemakings that, taken together, represent the most consequential overhaul of America’s nuclear regulatory framework in nearly 70 years. The modernizations will address many significant regulatory cost drivers that have disadvantaged advanced nuclear energy as a reliable, emissions-free, dispatchable source of power. For nuclear energy to be a viable option, it needs to work for the American taxpayer and ratepayer. The NRC’s reforms give all forms of nuclear power a better shot at doing so. 

A Nuclear Regulatory System Built for a Different Era 

The NRC’s licensing and regulatory framework was built for a different era and was primarily designed for large light-water reactors (LWRs), which the agency readily acknowledges. When developers of microreactors and advanced designs apply, they are routed through the most burdensome environmental review pathway by default, subjected to security rules calibrated for facilities they do not resemble. 

Read more in The National Interest here.