WASHINGTON (December 8th, 2021) - Nuclear Innovation Alliance Executive Director Judi Greenwald issued the following statement on the introduction of the ‘Accelerating Nuclear Innovation through Fee Reform Act’ by Representatives Gonzalez and Luria today:
"Introduction of the ‘Accelerating Nuclear Innovation through Fee Reform Act’ is an important step forward for American energy policy as it signals continuing bipartisan support for advanced nuclear energy innovation to help meet our nation’s clean energy goals. The current Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) fee model discourages innovation by advanced reactor developers by charging high fees for licensing reviews of new designs. These fees could exceed tens of millions of dollars for some innovative advanced reactor designs.
“This bill reforms the NRC fee recovery model by eliminating license review fees for new advanced nuclear reactors. This will reduce barriers for advanced reactor licensing, consistent with recommendations in the Nuclear Innovation Alliance Spring 2021 report on this topic (https://www.nuclearinnovationalliance.org/unlocking-advanced-nuclear-innovation-role-fee-reform-and-public-investment). Advanced nuclear energy can make a significant and timely contribution to climate protection and this legislation recognizes the benefits of advanced reactor development and deployment as a public good. We applaud the congressional sponsors for their leadership.”
-###-
About NIA
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.