Cold Air Currents: U.S. politicians act to speed licensing of new generation of nuclear power

Thursday, September 15, 2016

U.S. politicians act to speed licensing of new generation of nuclear power

You don't often see "unanimously passed a bipartisan bill", but...
US House unanimously passes advanced nuclear development bill

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bipartisan bill Sept. 12 to facilitate development of advanced nuclear reactors.
The bill, H.R. 4979, or the Advanced Nuclear Technology Development Act of 2016, would require the NRC to form a framework for reviewing advanced reactor applications. The legislation comes as several older nuclear plants have shuttered or announced plans to close amid market pressures.
"The next generation of the nuclear industry needs to start now, with Congress ensuring that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is able to provide the certainty that the private sector needs to invest in innovative technologies," said Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, who introduced the bill along with Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif.
The bill would require the NRC to submit a plan to Congress for creating a regulatory framework for advanced reactor licensing, including ways to expedite and streamline the licensing process.

continue reading at SNL

For a better understanding of the issue, I highly recommend you read Jay Faison's NUCLEAR INNOVATION ISN’T WELCOME HERE:

Imagine you’re a nuclear entrepreneur like Jack Devanney with a world-beating idea. Jack had built 440,000-ton oil tankers and realized that he could cheaply build nuclear plants just like he’d built those tankers: in a shipyard assembly line. So he created ThorCon. But before building his first plant to test the idea, Jack faced a choice.

Build in America. It would take 10 years and cost around $500 million, including roughly $100 million in fees to get it approved by the NRC, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Build in Asia. Get it approved to build in 4 years. Save millions.

This is a story of regulation gone amok, of jobs and investment lost and of our best entrepreneurs forced to take their ideas overseas. There’s no surprise ending. Jack, ThorCon and their molten salt nuclear plants won’t be here. They’ll build in Indonesia. And they aren’t alone – entrepreneurs testing new nuclear plants will continue to cross the Pacific. I don’t know about you, but I want our entrepreneurs here. This is a problem – and one we can fix.