Senate EPW Committee approves bill to bolster nationʻs nuclear leadership

The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee passed legislation that seeks to bolster the nation’s standing as the international leader for nuclear energy technologies.

The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023, introduced by a bipartisan group of senators, passed out of the committee by a vote of 16-3.

“From both a national security and energy independence standpoint, America has everything to gain from being the world’s leader in nuclear energy, and today we took an important step forward in achieving that goal,” U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), ranking member on the committee and one of the bill’s sponsors, said. “This legislation gives a major boost to a clean, reliable power generation source, and provides the tools needed for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to facilitate the development and deployment of new technologies here in the United States.”

Capito introduced the bill along with U.S. Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), chair of the committee, and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

“Investing in clean, reliable nuclear energy is essential to meeting our climate goals and advancing our economic and national security interests,” Carper said. “The ADVANCE Act will help provide the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with the tools and resources needed to ensure that the United States remains a world leader in safely deploying nuclear energy for decades to come. I applaud Senators Capito and Whitehouse, as well as our colleagues on the Environment and Public Works Committee for advancing this bipartisan nuclear legislation today. In addition, I look forward to working with our Senate colleagues to pass this legislation and send it to the President’s desk.”

The ADVANCE Act would facilitate American nuclear leadership by empowering the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to lead in international forums to develop regulations for advanced nuclear reactors. It would also establish a joint Commerce Department and Energy Department initiative to facilitate outreach to nations that are seeking to develop advanced nuclear energy programs. Further, the bill would reduce regulatory costs for companies seeking to license advanced nuclear reactor technologies; create a prize to incentivize the successful deployment of next-generation nuclear reactor technologies; and require the NRC to develop a pathway to enable the timely licensing of nuclear facilities at brownfield sites.

“Investing in the next generation of nuclear energy will help lower carbon emissions and head off threats to our national and energy security,” Whitehouse said. “Thanks to Chairman Carper and Ranking Member Capito for working with me on this bipartisan effort to ensure the next generation of nuclear technology can be safely regulated, licensed, and competitively developed here in America, boosting our nation’s longstanding global leadership on nuclear energy.”

The bill would also modernize outdated rules that restrict international investment and extend a long-established, indemnification policy necessary to enable the continued operation of today’s reactors and give certainty for capital investments in building new reactors.

Cosponsors of the bill include U.S. Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jim Risch (R-ID), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Mark Warner (D-VA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).