Congress passed the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act (ADVANCE Act) in June 2024, which includes several provisions to encourage the development of nuclear energy infrastructure. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law.
The bipartisan bill, which passed the Senate 88-2, aims to continue the country’s clean energy transition and ensure electricity reliability by reinvigorating the nuclear industry, which has been overlooked in favor of other zero-emission energy sources in recent years. Planned nuclear projects in the country consistently have been canceled due to difficulty adapting to advanced nuclear technology, elevated costs and a difficult regulatory process. Keeping old reactors modernized also has proven an expensive and regulatorily arduous process. Nonetheless, nuclear power still accounts for around a fifth of the nation’s total electricity generation.
The act will promote nuclear energy in the country through various measures, including significant Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reforms, incentivizing the deployment of state-of-the-art reactors, support for the upkeep of operating reactors and a streamlined nuclear license procedure.
The most important directive of the bill is the requirement for the NRC to establish an accelerated licensing process, making it easier to construct reactors. Furthermore, the environmental review process required by the National Environmental Policy Act is set to be overhauled. Other changes to the NRC directive include an updated mission statement for the agency “to include that licensing and regulation of the civilian use of radioactive materials and nuclear energy be conducted in a manner that is efficient and does not unnecessarily limit —
(1) the civilian use of radioactive materials and deployment of nuclear energy; or
(2) the benefits of civilian use of radioactive materials and nuclear energy technology to society.”
Measures to encourage the creation of new reactors include reducing regulatory costs for companies looking to license advanced nuclear reactor technologies and prizes to incentivize the successful deployment of advanced reactor technologies. Development also will be spurred by a directive for the NRC to approve the adoption of advanced manufacturing techniques to build more efficient reactors more quickly. Fewer regulatory fees and an easier licensing procedure are expected to help smaller, innovative firms enter the market.
The bill also includes internationally focused provisions, such as loosening restrictions on international investment in American nuclear energy, allowing for more exports of nuclear technology and plans for an international forum to oversee regulations for advanced nuclear reactors. These changes come at a time when the United States has fallen behind international peers in the nuclear sector, with China and India constructing 25 and seven nuclear reactors, respectively. None are under construction in the United States.
While critics have expressed concerns over the potential relaxation of nuclear safety regulations, the broad bipartisan approval in both chambers of Congress reflects the desire for energy independence and support for growing American low-emission energy capacities. The ADVANCE Act will re-emphasize an industry long overlooked.
McGuireWoods continues to track the ADVANCE Act and the market response. Please reach out to the authors with questions or to discuss the above information.
The authors thank legal intern Joshua Chilmaid who contributed to the alert. He is not licensed to practice law.