Washington, D.C. The following statement in response to the issuance today of new Executive Orders on nuclear power may be attributed to Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) President and CEO Judi Greenwald.
“We welcome the Administration’s efforts to boost development and deployment of nuclear power. Leveraging Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DOE) authorities and capacity are important means to those ends. The DoD is particularly well positioned to move ahead on new reactors, and we look forward to their continued progress. The DOE is well positioned to leverage their sites to build new reactors, strengthen the nuclear fuel supply chain, and explore new opportunities for fuel recycling. However, adequate staffing and funding are required for these goals to be met. Recent DOE staffing reductions and proposed budget cuts undermine the Department’s efforts and make it harder to implement these executive orders. We urge the Administration and Congress to adequately resource and staff DOE to meet this moment.
“NIA has long thought it is important that NRC improve the efficiency of its activities (see this NIA two-pager summarizing our analysis and views: Urgency of NRC Reform). The NRC must modernize to ensure effective, efficient, and predictable licensing of new nuclear reactors. However, some of the provisions in the EOs would actually undermine the Administration's goals. Our assessment is that NRC is already making significant progress on reform in compliance with congressional direction including the 2024 ADVANCE Act. It is in everyone's interest that this progress continue and not be undermined by staffing cuts or upended by conflicting directives. NRC effectiveness, efficiency and independence are critical to the public, the industry, and potential customers of U.S. nuclear technology both here and abroad.”
The Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) is a non-profit think-and-do-tank working to enable nuclear power as a global solution to mitigate climate change. Through policy analysis, research, and education, we are catalyzing the next era of nuclear energy. Our organization is funded primarily through charitable grants and philanthropic donations from climate-concerned individuals and organizations.