On Friday, November 19, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the President’s roughly $2 trillion budget reconciliation package, voting 220 to 213 in favor of H.R. 5376 the Build Back Better Act (“Reconciliation Bill”), kicking the bill over to the Senate. While the bill is not final, it demonstrates a clear commitment for clean
energy
House Subcommittee on Energy Holds Hearing on Spending at the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, with Amy Roma Testifying
On October 21, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight & Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing titled “Judicious Spending to Enable Success at the Office of Nuclear Energy.” A recording of the hearing is available here. Key witnesses at the hearing included Dr. Katy Huff, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Nuclear Energy at…
How Hydrogen and Nuclear Can Work Together to Support Rapid Decarbonization
The U.S. has made significant commitments to decarbonize its electricity sector by 2035 and its economy by 2050. As the recent United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report highlights, following through on these commitments cannot come soon enough to combat the increasingly devastating impacts of climate change. One theme this blog continually emphasizes…
American Nuclear Infrastructure Act Makes a 2021 Comeback
Last week, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators re-introduced the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act (ANIA), which is aimed at improving the nation’s nuclear infrastructure and supply chain, growing the economy, creating jobs, reducing carbon emissions, and strengthening U.S. energy and national security. The bill was re-introduced by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member…
Senate Committee holds Hearing on Advanced Reactors, With Amy Roma Testifying
On March 25, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing entitled “The Latest Developments in the Nuclear Energy Sector with a Focus on Ways to Maintain and Expand the Use of Nuclear Energy in the United States and Abroad.” A recording of the hearing is available here. This full…
NRC Seeks Comment on Proposed Policy Statement on Use of Evidence in Regulatory Activities
On December 7, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a Proposed Evaluation Policy Statement (the “Proposed Policy Statement”) that seeks public comment regarding the NRC’s use of evidence for many non-adjudicatory agency actions such as licensing, oversight, rulemaking, and others.
The Proposed Policy Statement is driven by a statutory mandate from the 2018 Foundations for…
DOE Awards $160M for Advanced Nuclear
On October 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded X-energy and TerraPower $80M each for their respective initiatives to build advanced nuclear reactors.
The proposals were evaluated under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), a new endeavor in the Office of Nuclear Energy. According to Dr. Rita Baranwal, the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear…
NRC, DOE, and Congress Move on Advanced Reactors in May
The latter half of May has seen regulatory initiatives benefiting advanced reactors promoted across the government. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) affirmed new guidance on non-light water reactor (non-LWR) methodologies, and the Department of Energy (DOE) showed support for a new, streamlined emergency preparedness framework for small modular reactors (SMRs) and new reactor technologies. …
Thanksgiving Reading – Fall Advanced Reactor Developments
In time for the Thanksgiving long weekend, we want to draw your attention to a number of interesting reports on advanced reactor developments that have come out over the past couple months:
- Most recently, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) issued a thoughtful white paper on regulatory and licensing issues for micro-reactors, in advance of the
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Nuclear Innovation Alliance Publishes Two Papers on Streamlining NRC Licensing Reviews for Advanced Reactors
The Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) late last week published two papers on recommendations for addressing regulatory challenges related to advanced reactor licensing:
- Nuclear Innovation and NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act)
- Establishing Interface Requirements for “Major Portions” Standard Design Approvals
The blog authors had the pleasure of…