Executive orders aim to expedite U.S. nuclear revival Image By EPN Staff President Donald Trump recently signed four executive orders to speed up regulatory decisions on new nuclear reactors and remove other speed bumps in a push to supercharge U.S. nuclear power growth. Among other things these orders call for Nuclear Regulatory Commission permitting decisions to come within 18 months of a new plant’s application, speeding up reviews that currently take years. The orders also create a pilot program for reactor construction with a goal of having three reactors running by July 4, 2026. Experts have questioned the orders’ ultimate impact on the nuclear industry, in part because they may represent a White House takeover of an independent commission. But agreement is growing that new nuclear facilities will be a significant part of the United State’s energy future, and the Trump administration is pushing to speed things up. “Mark this day on your calendar,” Trump Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said during a press event for the executive orders. “This is going to turn the clock back on over 50 years of overregulation of an industry.” Why it matters Energy demand is expected to surge in the coming years as artificial intelligence is layered into the U.S. economy, which will likely require the proliferation of electricity-hungry data centers. A number of tech companies want to go big on nuclear, including Microsoft, which hopes to restart Three Mile Island. The Pennsylvania facility has two reactors, one of which remains shuttered after a partial meltdown in 1979. The United States has only added two new reactors in the last 50 years. The new reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia ran years late and some $17 billion over budget. A lot of hopes are riding on next-generation SMRs – Small Modular Reactors – that have a lower price tag and a lower output than traditional reactors. There aren’t yet any SMRs hooked up to a power grid in the United States, although multiple states have taken steps to support SMR development. Utility companies and government officials in several states have sued the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, arguing that the commission has unreasonably slowed permitting and construction for these facilities. The Tennessee Valley Authority recently applied to build what would be the nation’s first small modular nuclear reactor. A previously planned reactor project in Utah was cancelled in 2023 as costs ballooned. The bigger picture The president’s orders would: Create an 18-month deadline for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to decide permit applications Create a pilot program to bring three experimental reactors online by the summer of 2026 Invoke emergency measures to make sure the United States has enough reactor fuel to supply the industry as it grows Explore reactor construction on federal lands The NRC is headed by five commissioners appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for five-year terms, with a mix of Trump and Biden appointees. Three of the four orders empower Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to work with the NRC to implement them and build on the commission’s ongoing efforts. The commission said through a spokesman that it was assessing Trump’s executive order and that it would comply with White House directives, the Associated Press reported when the order was signed. Additional details Key policy decisions also loom for Congress, which is considering the repeal of energy tax credits baked into the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. More than 100 nuclear industry stakeholders, including major utility companies, sent Congressional leaders a letter at the end of April asking them to protect credits that are “essential tools to retain and grow our nuclear capacity.” The federal government also has a $900 million grant program to boost small modular nuclear projects, which passed during President Joe Biden’s administration and has been re-upped under President Trump.
