In just over one year since its passing, the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act has begun to unlock new opportunities for advanced nuclear energy projects, streamline regulatory reviews, and draw significant industry and investor attention.
Looking back now, the passage of the ADVANCE Act represents an important step in preserving the existing nuclear fleet and accelerating growth of the U.S. nuclear industry. The nuclear industry has leveraged the Act’s message to regulators, the industry, and potential investors that the country needs nuclear energy to reach its goals on top of its collective successes to position itself for self-reinforcing growth. All of this potential has developed even though the ADVANCE Act provided only limited direct financial support.
Congress passed the ADVANCE Act on July 9, 2024, with overwhelming bipartisan support––the vote was 88-2 in the Senate and 393-13 in the House. The act aimed to enhance U.S. civil nuclear leadership, support licensing of advanced reactors, preserve existing nuclear generation, strengthen the domestic nuclear supply chain, and improve nuclear regulation. The passage of the ADVANCE Act left many in the U.S. nuclear industry cautiously optimistic about the future.
Two areas where the ADVANCE Act has been particularly successful are in its support for deploying new nuclear technologies and regulatory reform. On the deployment of new nuclear technology, the ADVANCE Act capped the amount that the NRC could charge companies for the licensing reviews of advanced reactor applicants by directing that the NRC to exclude costs for “mission-indirect program support” i.e., overheads, travel, and training costs. It also authorized “prizes” to the first companies that receive licenses for different categories of advanced reactors or that use certain fuel types by refunding the amount that the billed by the NRC in its licensing review. This provision lowers the costs for engagement and deployment of new nuclear reactor designs.
These changes have had an effect. The NRC is currently reviewing three applications for construction permits to build advanced reactors in three different states. As of July 24, 2025, the NRC also reported that it is engaged with almost thirty other companies who are preparing applications to certify a reactor design or construct a new nuclear power plant. The pace of pre-application submittals and meetings has significantly picked since the passage of the ADVANCE Act.
The regulatory reforms have also been embraced by the NRC, leading the agency to commit to improve the licensing process. Credit is due to the NRC and its leadership team who have leaned into the challenges and opportunities presented by the ADVANCE Act. For example, the NRC’s efforts to implement the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 National Environmental Policy Act Amendments were complemented by provisions in the ADVANCE Act and direction in the Executive Orders to modernize nuclear reactor environmental reviews. Recently, the Commission approved changes to the agency’s environmental protection regulations and guidance documents that should streamline the NRC’s environmental reviews. In addition, for each of the three construction permit applications, the NRC has committed to completing its review within 18 months of docketing of the application. This timeline is significantly faster than prior reviews and can be explained by both the policy changes embodied in the ADVANCE Act and the President’s May 2025 Executive Orders and, according to the NRC, the quality of the applications received.
The NRC has also identified ways to attract new talent to the agency to replace an aging workforce and meet the upcoming opportunities, looked for ways to streamline its licensing reviews, and identified ways to leverage past experience on the tranche of power uprate license amendment requests expected over the coming years. Perhaps most importantly, NRC leadership has also acknowledged the need to make internal changes to the agency, including by changing the culture of its oversight program, focusing on efficiency of its reviews without compromising the public health or safety, and improving differing professional opinion process that gives agency personnel who dissent from a decision a way to raise issues for management consideration.
With the tailwinds from the ADVANCE Act and the blistering power demand expectations being driven largely by the growth of Advanced Intelligence and demand, nuclear energy is poised for continuing strong growth. The number of announced projects throughout the country suggest that the industry is looking for ways to meet the moment. In the near term, utilities and investors are focusing their support on modernizing the existing nuclear fleet, looking for ways to increase power output through major licensing actions and equipment upgrades. The number of announced projects and transactions involving the current nuclear fleet has captured headlines and meeting the moment. While it is impossible to say with certainty, the passage of the ADVANCE Act and its focus on modernizing the existing fleet could be viewed as a supporting factor.
But some challenges still remain. Recent turnover at both the Commission and senior management levels at the NRC has introduced uncertainty regarding future Commission policy. Chief among those are potential changes to the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process and inspection programs that industry has long complained are out of date and insufficiently focused on risk-significant issues. The pipeline of new projects after the ADVANCE Act’s enactment also raise questions about the NRC’s readiness to review them.
And with none of the announced advanced or new build reactor projects having received final NRC approval or certification for construction, the ability of nuclear to meet the moment and fully realize its promise remains uncertain. But, one year later, this much is clear: the future of the nuclear industry appears to be more promising than ever because of the enactment of the ADVANCE Act.