Nick Loris was quoted in a Florida Politics article about nuclear energy and his testimony to Florida lawmakers.
Nick Loris, vice president of public policy at C3 Solutions, told Committee members that new federal licensing reforms and private investment opportunities could pave the way for faster, more affordable nuclear development.
One opportunity he highlighted is the new federal “Part 53” licensing frameworkunder the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), designed to modernize the approval process for small modular reactors. The goal of this framework is to shorten permitting timelines, allowing U.S.-based technologies to better compete with those from other countries.
“I do think it can cut the construction and permitting timelines from 10 to 12 years down to six, which is where South Korea and China are,” said Loris. “The United States is not operating in SMR right now, but the two countries that are – are Russia and China. If we’re thinking from a global competitiveness standpoint, [it is one way we can] lead the globe in terms of innovating for a cleaner energy future.”
Loris encouraged Florida to proactively engage with federal regulators through the NRC’s Agreement State Program, noting that the state already collects valuable environmental and hydrological data that could help shorten permitting timelines for AI and data center projects.
