House panel approves four bills aiming to accelerate US nuclear energy sector

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy approved four bills on Thursday that would bolster the competitiveness of U.S. nuclear energy companies, revise Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) fee recovery and make advanced nuclear fuel more available to researchers.

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the chairman of the subcommittee, said enacting the bills would take “important steps” to address key challenges facing the U.S. nuclear energy industry today.

“Throughout this Congress, we have repeatedly heard about the immense challenges facing all parts of our nation’s nuclear industry,” Upton said. “While individual states have taken steps to preserve specific nuclear power plants, the underlying intellectual and industrial nuclear infrastructure is at risk of further atrophy in the absence of a coherent and defined policy from the federal government.”

The Advancing U.S. Civil Nuclear Competitiveness and Jobs Act would require the secretary of energy assess how regulations, policies and legal requirements impact the ability of civilian nuclear facilities to compete globally and to make recommendations to improve them. Additionally, the bill would streamline portions of U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) export review procedures.

The Advanced Nuclear Fuel Availability Act would establish a program within the DoE that works to make “high-assay low enriched uranium” more available to support advanced nuclear technology development. The bill would also establish public-private partnerships to overcome challenges to regulatory and market barriers to nuclear engineers and scientists securing advanced nuclear fuel.

Meanwhile, the Nuclear Utilization of Keynote Energy (NUKE) Act would make the NRC’s fee recovery structure more predictable, transparent and efficient. A fourth bill, H.R. 6141, would establish a pilot program that brings onsite micro-reactors to critical national security locations.

“Each of these bills can help reinvigorate different components of our nuclear ecosystem,” U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said. “In doing so, the legislation will facilitate innovation and competition, which provides the dual benefit of both being good for consumers while protecting our national security interests.”