As we have previously written, the rise in data center development has significantly increased predicted electricity demand. As a reliable, carbon-free source of base load power with an average capacity factor of 93% in the...more
The US president on May 23, 2025 signed four executive orders focused on promoting economic and national security by expanding and accelerating the development and use of nuclear energy in the United States to address rising...more
2024 was marked by significant developments in the nuclear energy sector, shaped by evolving regulatory frameworks, legislative action, and growing global interest in nuclear power. In the United States the Accelerating...more
President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) establishing the National Energy Dominance Council (Council) on February 14, 2025. The EO outlines the rationale for creating the Council, its members, and its primary...more
The growing interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) has triggered a race to develop the technology, driving demand for high-density data centers and significantly increasing predicted electricity consumption....more
The NRC is taking an important step toward an inclusive licensing regime for a new generation of reactors. On January 3, the NRC staff submitted for commission approval a recommended final rule on “Emergency Preparedness for...more
NRC Commissioners Christopher Hanson, David Wright, and Jeff Baran recently voted 2-1 (Commissioner Baran dissenting) to implement SECY-21-0029, “Rulemaking Plan on Revision of Inservice Testing and Inservice Inspection...more
The NRC recently issued its Allegation Program Annual Trends Report. The report analyzes regional, national, and site-specific allegation trends for calendar year 2020. The report’s top-line numbers show that the number of...more
The NRC recently held a meeting to discuss the path forward on its plans to address inconsistencies between the two primary licensing paths for new reactors. The agency estimates that its streamlining effort will result in...more
The NRC’s Office of Investigations (OI) recently published its Annual Report FY 2020, summarizing its activities during the last fiscal year. The annual report shows that OI opened 13% more cases in 2020 than in 2019,...more
The NRC held a public meeting on January 26 to discuss potential options for licensing fusion energy systems. This meeting is part of the NRC’s work to develop regulations to license and regulate advanced nuclear reactors as...more
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) wants your input on its advanced reactor rulemaking activities on a rolling basis, so it announced that it will periodically place “preliminary proposed rule language” on the federal...more
The suspense is over. The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced Tuesday that it had awarded $80 million each to TerraPower and X-energy under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) for them to build two advanced...more
The commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved almost all of the staff’s proposed approach for adding a new part to its regulations, 10 CFR Part 53, to govern licensing of advanced nuclear reactors. ...more
The NRC staff published Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2020-02 on August 31 requesting potential advanced reactor applicants to provide information on their plans for engaging with the agency during fiscal years (FYs) 2023...more
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced new key dates for companies considering applying for funding for its Advanced Reactor Demonstration (ARD) program. Morgan Lewis previously reported on the ARD Funding...more
The US Department of Energy (DOE) released a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for its Advanced Reactor Demonstration (ARD) program on May 14. ...more
The NRC recently issued its Allegation Program Annual Trends Report analyzing regional, national, and site-specific allegation trends for calendar year 2019. The report shows a decrease of almost 50% in total allegations...more
The NRC on April 30 published a notice of its intent to conduct scoping and gather information necessary to develop a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for small-scale advanced nuclear reactors (ANRs). ...more
The US House of Representatives Energy Subcommittee within the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology unanimously approved H.R. 6097 (Nuclear Energy Research and Development Act) on March 12. Representatives Dan Newhouse...more
In SECY 20-0020, issued on February 28, the NRC Staff informed the Commission of its conclusion that developing a generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) for advanced nuclear reactors (ANRs) is viable....more
The US House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is requesting feedback on the proposed Nuclear Energy Research and Development Act by Wednesday, February 19. The Committee hopes to introduce the...more