Senate EPW advances nuclear power bill spearheaded by West Virginia's Capito

WASHINGTON (WV News) — A bill that aims to promote continued and additional nuclear power capabilities in the United States has been advanced by a U.S. Senate committee.

The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023 passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by a 16-3 vote Wednesday, according to a press release.

The ADVANCE Act was introduced by a bipartisan group of senators, including the committee’s ranking member, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and the committee’s chair, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.

“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,” Capito 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.”

Provisions of the bill:

• Facilitating American nuclear leadership by empowering the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to lead in international forums to develop regulations for advanced nuclear reactors and establishing a joint Commerce Department and Energy Department initiative to facilitate outreach to nations that are seeking to develop advanced nuclear energy programs

• Developing and deploying new nuclear technologies by reducing regulatory costs for companies seeking to license advanced nuclear reactor technologies; creating a prize to incentivize the deployment of next-generation nuclear reactor technologies; and requiring the NRC to develop a pathway to enable the timely licensing of nuclear facilities at brownfield sites;

• Preserving existing nuclear energy by modernizing outdated rules that restrict international investment and extending a long-established indemnification policy necessary to enable the continued operation of today’s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

• Strengthening America’s nuclear fuel cycle and supply chain infrastructure by directing the NRC to establish an initiative to enhance preparedness to qualify and license advanced nuclear fuels and identifying modern manufacturing techniques to build nuclear reactors better, faster, cheaper and smarter.

• Authorizing funding to assist in cleaning up legacy abandoned mining sites on Tribal lands

“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.”

Capito has been a staunch advocate for the advancement of nuclear power generation, particularly since last year, when the West Virginia Legislature passed a bill repealing its ban on nuclear power facilities.

Capito said in April that the NRC had agreed to work with the state of West Virginia as it works to develop nuclear power generation.

“I’m proud of the work that went into the ADVANCE Act and that the EPW Committee continues to demonstrate we can successfully collaborate in addressing critical issues like nuclear energy in a bipartisan way,” Capito said.