Congress votes to advance nuclear energy development in the US

Congress has passed a measure aimed astatine giving atomic vigor a boost successful the US. The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act is present waiting for President Joe Biden’s signature to go law. The Senate passed the measure connected Tuesday, aft the House of Representatives passed a akin measure successful February.

The measure is expected to velocity up improvement of next-generation atomic reactors and presumption the US to pb the planetary market, portion besides helping aging reactors enactment online. Nuclear vigor is inactive a divisive solution for reducing greenhouse state emissions causing clime change, but it has gained bipartisan enactment successful caller years.

The ADVANCE Act directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to streamline its process for approving the planetary export of American atomic vigor exertion and chopped down regulatory costs for companies trying to licence precocious atomic reactors. It creates incentives for successfully deploying those technologies, and tasks the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) with creating a “timely” pathway for licensing tiny reactors astatine brownfields and erstwhile fossil substance generator sites. It besides seeks to accelerate licensing reappraisal for caller reactors astatine existing atomic sites and streamline the biology reappraisal process.

The authorities has already elicited beardown reactions from biology groups that either enactment oregon reason atomic energy. On 1 hand, atomic powerfulness is seen arsenic a mode to supplement fluctuating renewables similar star and upwind vigor with a dependable root of vigor that doesn’t make planet-heating c dioxide emissions.

“As we proceed to decarbonize our nation’s vigor strategy and code increasing vigor demand, we request each options disposable and atomic vigor volition play an important relation successful making definite we are capable to conscionable these challenges,” Evan Chapman, US national argumentation manager astatine Clean Air Task Force, said successful an emailed statement.

“Make nary mistake: This is not astir making the reactor licensing process much efficient, but astir weakening information and information oversight crossed the board, a longstanding manufacture goal,” Edwin Lyman, atomic powerfulness information manager astatine the Union of Concerned Scientists said successful a statement astir the ADVANCE Act this week up of its passage.