The United States has taken a significant step toward becoming a nuclear reactor hub. On Tuesday, June 18, the Senate approved the Accelerating the Deployment of Versatile and Advanced Nuclear Energy for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act in a vote of 88 to 2. A version also gained bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, passing 365 to 33 earlier this year, clearing the way for the bill to reach President Biden's desk.
In the last decade, more than a dozen reactors have been closed and only two new ones have been opened: a couple of them were commissioned last month in Georgia at an expense of more than $30 billion. The ADVANCE Act aims to expand the country's nuclear energy industry by creating incentives and reducing the time and cost of building nuclear reactors. These attempts include financial prizes for the first companies to reach certain goals, such as implementing recycling of recycled nuclear waste.
Much of the ADVANCE Act focuses on Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), an independent government agency that monitors nuclear use, including commercial nuclear power plants. The bill changes the role of the NRC, requiring it to create a new mission statement stating that “the licensing and regulation of the civil use of radioactive materials and nuclear energy shall be carried out in a manner that is efficient and not unnecessarily limit the benefits to society of the civil use of radioactive materials and nuclear energy technology.” Additionally, it instructs the NRC to speed up its licensing and hiring review process, as well as improve “its process for approving the export of U.S. technology to international markets.”
In a statement following the bill's passage, U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom Carper said, “The ADVANCE Act will provide the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with the tools and workforce it needs to review new nuclear technologies efficiently, while maintaining the critical role of the NRC.” security mission and creating thousands of jobs.
However, not everyone is in favor of the bill and critics warn that it involves security. Senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey were the two opposing votes, with the latter arguing that the ADVANCE Act turns the NRC into a facilitator rather than a regulator. “This bill puts advocacy over protection and corporate profits over community cleanliness.” markey stated. “The ADVANCE Act, attached to the Fire Safety and Grants Act, includes language that would require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to rewrite its mission to state that its regulation and oversight 'should not unnecessarily limit' civil nuclear activity, regardless of whether it is beneficial or detrimental to public safety and national security. “The NRC should not be the Nuclear Retail Commission.”
