Capito-led bill urges more nuclear energy development

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate, led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., would push forward the use of nuclear energy.

Called the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023, the bill would, among other things, develop and deploy new nuclear technologies and preserve existing nuclear energy.

“America can and should be a leader when it comes to deploying nuclear energy technologies, and this bipartisan legislation puts us on a path to achieve that goal,” Capito, who is Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, said in a statement Monday. “This bill prioritizes the future of American energy security by establishing commonsense policies to help deploy nuclear energy, which is a clean and reliable generation source for our nation’s electric grid. “

The bill also addresses the reuse of traditional energy source sites.

“It also directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to create a pathway for conventional energy source sites to be repurposed and used in the future,” Capito said. “I’m proud to lead a strong, bipartisan group of senators in introducing the ADVANCE Act, which signals an important step toward strengthening America’s nuclear energy sector.”

Senators Tom Carper of Delaware and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, both Democrats, are co-sponsors of the bill.

“As our nation’s largest source of reliable, carbon-free electricity, nuclear energy is critical to meeting our climate goals and maintaining our energy security,” EPW Chairman Carper said. “The ADVANCE Act will help the United States remain a clean energy leader by providing the certainty needed to safely deploy the next generation of nuclear reactors and fuels. This bipartisan legislation will also ensure that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has the tools and workforce to keep our current reactors safe and to efficiently review new nuclear technologies.”

Whitehouse said the U.S. should be a leader in nuclear energy.

“Investing in the next generation of carbon-free nuclear energy will lower emissions and head off threats to our national and energy security,” she said. “I’m glad to help lead this bipartisan effort to ensure the next generation of nuclear technology can be safely regulated, licensed, and developed here at home, boosting America’s longstanding global leadership on nuclear energy.”

Objectives of the ADVANCE Act include:

• Reducing regulatory costs for companies seeking to license advanced nuclear reactor technologies.

• Creating a prize to incentivize the successful deployment of next-generation nuclear reactor technologies.

• Requiring the NRC to develop a pathway to enable the timely licensing of nuclear facilities at brownfield sites.

• Modernizing outdated rules that restrict international investment.

• Extending 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.

• Directing the NRC to establish an initiative to enhance preparedness to qualify and license advanced nuclear fuels.

• Identifying modern manufacturing techniques to build nuclear reactors better, faster, cheaper, and smarter.

According to information related to the bill, America’s 93 operating nuclear reactors generate about 20 percent of the nation’s electricity and more than half of carbon free energy. New nuclear reactors are also needed to provide necessary reliability and diversity to the electric infrastructure.

“An effective and efficient nuclear safety regulator is necessary to realize the recent, strong bipartisan Congressional support for nuclear energy. Reinvigorating America’s nuclear energy sector will create jobs, strengthen our energy and national security, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, grow our economy, and strengthen strategic domestic supply chains. The ADVANCE Act will help our nation achieve these goals.”

China’s “aggressive nuclear buildout highlight the importance of American leadership in providing energy security – at home and abroad. The international community, particularly American allies, are seeking to deploy new nuclear technologies to reduce reliance on Russian energy, and specifically Rosatom — Russia’s state-owned nuclear enterprise. Exporting American nuclear technologies will benefit the domestic industrial base and fill a vacuum that would otherwise be filled by Russia and China.”