Biden signs bill to boost advanced nuclear development

US President Joe Biden signed into law legislation to support the development of advanced nuclear reactors by reducing licensing times and cutting processing fees.

The US Senate passed Senate Bill 870, the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act, in an 88-2 vote on June 18. A companion bill received similar bipartisan support in the US House.

On July 9, Biden called the legislation a "win for American energy security, innovation and achieving economywide, net-zero emissions by 2050," adding that the new law would help deliver clean power and union jobs.

"The urgency of the climate crisis demands a swift transition to cleaner energy sources, and fortunately the ADVANCE Act helps us to do just that," Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said in a statement. Carper is chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee.

"With the ADVANCE Act being signed into law, we secured a landmark win for the future of nuclear energy here in America," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), ranking member of the EPW. "This is the result of years of work to build widespread consensus about the benefits of advanced nuclear reactors to our electric grid, economy and environment."

Nuclear power facilities currently provide about 20% of US electricity. However, new nuclear reactor development in the US has fallen far behind other countries, such as China, in recent decades.

Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power Co. completed a two-unit expansion at its 4,530-MW Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Plant near Waynesboro, Ga., in April — the first new nuclear reactors in the US in decades. The nearly two-decade-long project is estimated to have cost more than double initial projections of about $14 billion.

Nuclear advocates celebrated completion of the Vogtle project, and Southern President, CEO and Chair Chris Womack said the US will need 10 GW of new large-scale nuclear capacity going forward. Advocates say financial challenges remain, however; some utilities are seeking additional government incentives, including cost overrun insurance, to de-risk future nuclear builds.

Advanced small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), which have relatively small carbon footprints, are seen as a potentially affordable source of 24/7 carbon-free electricity. But US nuclear developers have struggled to secure financing due to uncertainty over permitting times and cost overruns.

Meanwhile, China's National Energy Administration announced in December 2023 the completion of one of the world's first advanced high-temperature SMR facilities, located in Shidao Bay, Shandong Province.

Measures in new law

The ADVANCE Act directs the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to reduce fees for companies seeking to license advanced reactor technologies; gives the NRC more funding to hire qualified staff to process applications; and authorizes the US Commerce and Energy departments to help create public-private financing relationships to support civil nuclear technologies exports.

ADVANCE also creates a prize incentive equal to licensing fees assessed by the NRC for the first advanced reactor permit issued to a nonfederal entity or the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

The TVA has plans for four 300-SMR units at its Clinch River Nuclear site near Oak Ridge, Tenn. The federal power provider is partnering with GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Inc., Ontario Power Generation Inc. and others to develop the BWRX-300 reactor design. TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash said in January that the design work was about 40% to 45% complete.

"The law better equips the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to license new reactor designs by giving the agency more resources to hire and retain the strong scientific and engineering talent needed to vigorously carry out its mission," National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi said in a July 9 statement, adding that the law also empowers the NRC to "better advocate for American nuclear energy in international venues."

The ADVANCE Act also directs the NRC to initiate rulemaking to support development of new nuclear at brownfield sites such as coal-fired power facilities.

TerraPower, a Bellevue, Wash.-based startup, commenced construction in June on its Natrium demonstration nuclear plant at the site of PacifiCorp's coal-fired Naughton power plant in Kemmerer, Wyo. Backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, TerraPower is developing a 345-MW sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system. TerraPower's construction permit application is currently pending at the NRC.

John Hopkins, president and CEO of advanced nuclear developer NuScale Power Corp., said in May that the need for advanced nuclear technologies has "never been greater amidst today's rapidly expanding power demand landscape."

A joint project between NuScale and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems to build the country's first SMR power plant was scrapped altogether in November 2023 after proponents failed to identify enough buyers to take a share of the output from the planned 462-MW project. The first unit of the now-canceled UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project was set to enter service in Idaho Falls, Idaho, by 2029. NuScale's VOYGR SMR design became the first certified by the NRC in January 2023.