Hudson Introduces Legislation to Amend Nuclear Regulatory Commission

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC) reintroduced the Advanced Nuclear Deployment Act, legislation to amend the authorities at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security, passed Rep. Hudson's draft legislation through markup on October 24th.

“At the beginning of this Congress, I promised to support and lead legislation that expands the availability of affordable, reliable energy,” said Rep. Hudson. “We must enhance America’s competitiveness in energy deployment. I am proud to reintroduce this important piece of legislation, which will reduce emissions and increase our production of clean, accessible, safe energy.”

The proposed changes would reduce barriers to entry for commercial developers of advanced nuclear reactor technology, provide regulatory certainty, and reduce bureaucratic red tape with applications for ANR development, implementation, and demonstration.

“In our home state of Washington, we have adopted an ambitious goal to completely eliminate carbon emissions from our energy generation portfolio by 2045,” said Rep. Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08). “This means we need to construct new emissions-free capacity resources like advanced nuclear, in addition to wind and solar and the abundant hydropower we already benefit from. By expanding our nuclear portfolio, in addition to hydroelectric baseload power, we can integrate renewables onto the grid, increase grid reliability, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while keeping energy bills affordable.”  

To read the legislation, click here. 

The proposed changes outlined in the Advanced Nuclear Deployment Act requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to: 

• Recommend to Congress additional procedures to further facilitate the expedited licensing of new nuclear reactors.
• Report to Congress on an explanation of a delay in the planning and roll out of the expedited process if the delay exceeds 90 days.
• Establish and implement schedules that provide target time periods for the completion of review activities applicable to the licensing of micro-reactors.
• Establish and carry out an expedited procedure for issuing a combined license to construct and operate, with specified conditions, a nuclear power plant. 
• Work with the Department of Energy Secretary, appropriate heads of federal agencies, micro-reactor tech developers, and others to develop and implement risk-informed, performance-based strategies 

In addition, the legislation requires the Energy Secretary to consult with appropriate heads of federal agencies to establish a pilot program under which the Secretary enters into long-term power purchase agreements for power generated by commercial nuclear reactors.