Seven recent announcements—five in the past week alone—show that the United States and its allies are getting serious about deploying nuclear energy. These announcements reflect a dramatic need for new generation—particularly...more
Today, the Supreme Court announced that it is taking up a case related to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (“NRC”) ability to license away-from-reactor interim storage of spent nuclear fuel. By hearing the case in the...more
On Monday, September 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) published an updated version of its Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear report. The updated report builds off of the initial report,...more
On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, President Biden signed into law the most comprehensive energy-related bill since the Inflation Reduction Act—and it’s all about nuclear energy. This new law will support the deployment of nuclear...more
On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a request for proposals (“RFP”) aimed at expanding domestic uranium enrichment capabilities. This confirms the Biden Administration’s priority to establish...more
In a move further reflecting the ongoing geopolitical tensions between the United States and Russia, the U.S. government has recently proposed or implemented a series of policy changes aimed at curbing its reliance on the...more
Fusion energy took center stage in Washington, D.C. this week. On June 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a new strategy aimed at accelerating the viability of commercial fusion energy in partnership with...more
On May 29, 2024, the White House hosted a Summit on Domestic Nuclear Deployment, highlighting key points of progress being made across the public and private sectors, and announcing a number of new initiatives....more
An updated version of the ADVANCE Act—broad-ranging legislation intended to support deployment of new nuclear reactors in both the United States and abroad, among other things, received strong movement forward this past week...more
On Tuesday, April 16, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) published a new report as part of its “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff” initiative, focused on the strategies for innovative and reliable grid deployment. The same...more
On February 28, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill containing a package of nuclear licensing reforms aimed at speeding the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors. The bill, which had strong bipartisan...more
On October 13, 2023, President Biden and U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, announced seven regional clean hydrogen hub locations selected to receive $7 billion in Infrastructure Investments and...more
On September 27, 2023, Helion Energy, Inc., a fusion power company, and Nucor Corporation, the largest steel producer and recycler in North America, announced a deal to develop a 500 MWe Helion fusion power plant at a Nucor...more
On Monday, September 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) published three new reports as part of its “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff” initiative, focused on the state of industrial decarbonization. The goal of...more
On June 5, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) released two long awaited draft requests for proposals (“RFPs”) to support the development of high-assay low-enriched uranium (“HALEU”) in the United States....more
In April 2023, Idaho National Laboratory (“INL”), a U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) National Laboratory, published a report entitled “Recommendations to Improve the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reactor Licensing and...more
The U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) is releasing a series of reports on the path to commercialization for certain clean energy technologies, including a report on advanced reactors. Today, senior leaders at DOE hosted a...more
On March 30, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) published a report walking through the benefits and latest progress in fusion energy developments, while noting certain challenges and proposing policy approaches to...more
On March 8, 2023, the Biden Administration announced approximately $6 billion in funding through a new program within the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) aimed at accelerating decarbonization projects in energy-intensive...more
A recent report released last week by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shows that hundreds of coal plant sites could host new nuclear reactors. Siting new nuclear at retiring coal sites, referred to as the...more
On September 14, the NRC staff publicly released its preliminary White Paper on “Licensing and Regulating Fusion Energy Systems” to support upcoming meetings with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards on options for...more
On August 9, 2022, President Biden signed the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022 (H.R. 4346) (collectively the “CHIPS and Science Act” or the “Act”), which contains a number...more
On April 7, 2022, Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Jim Risch (R-ID), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the International...more
On February 11, 2022, Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office Nuclear Energy announced the launch of the $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program aimed at preserving the existing U.S. fleet of nuclear power reactors and the...more
Those involved with advanced reactors are well aware of the issues associated with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel: advanced reactors need HALEU to operate, but the U.S. doesn’t have domestic production...more