On September 21, 2020, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted to develop and codify a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for the construction and operation of advanced nuclear reactors through a technology-neutral, plant parameter envelope (PPE) approach. GEISs have the potential to materially reduce the licensing burden on NRC advanced reactor applicants, given that environmental
Export Controls
Developments in Advanced Reactor Licensing and Nuclear Export Controls
By Amy Roma & Sachin Desai on
Over the past month, there have been major developments related to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) advanced reactor licensing reform and nuclear-related export controls.
Kicking Off New Advanced Reactor Rulemaking
On April 13 the NRC staff published a paper (SECY-20-0032) seeking Commission approval for a rulemaking approach that would create a voluntary framework…
New CFIUS Rules Potentially Impacting Nuclear Foreign Investment
By Amy Roma & Sachin Desai on
After over a year of anticipation, in January the U.S. Treasury Department released its final regulations that revise the jurisdiction and rules for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ (CFIUS), following statutory changes to CFIUS under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). Although the full impact of these…
US Government Clamps Down on Nuclear Exports to China
By Amy Roma & Sachin Desai on
In a development that could cause every advanced reactor startup to reexamine its growth strategy, the US government (USG) yesterday afternoon issued a new framework concerning exports to China, which largely closes the export market to advanced reactor companies.
The framework document, which is available here and was described to a limited audience in a…