President Biden on July 9 signed legislation into law that is intended to modernize the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s regulatory frameworks and spur the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors.
In June, the Senate voted 88-2 to approve S. 870, the Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023.
The bill includes text of the “Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2024,” legislation intended to modernize NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) regulatory frameworks and spur the deployment of advanced reactors.
The ADVANCE Act text included in S. 870 is a conferenced version of the Senate-passed ADVANCE Act of 2023 (S. 1111) and the House-passed Atomic Energy Advancement Act (H.R. 6544).
The bill directs the NRC to:
- Enhance agency coordination to license advanced reactor fuel;
- Facilitate the licensing of nuclear facilities at brownfield and retired fossil fuel sites;
- Within 18 months develop guidance to license and regulate micro-reactors;
- Report to Congress on advanced manufacturing and construction of nuclear energy projects;
- Rely on existing licensing information when a new reactor is built at an existing site;
- Modernize its environmental review process; and
- Improve its reactor oversight programs to maximize efficiency.
