WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump signed executive orders Friday intended to quadruple domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years, a goal experts say the United States is highly unlikely to reach.
To speed up the development of nuclear power, the orders grant the U.S. energy secretary authority to approve advanced reactor designs and projects, taking authority away from the independent safety agency that has regulated the U.S. nuclear industry for five decades.
The order comes as demand for electricity surges amid a boom in energy-hungry data centers and artificial intelligence. , venture capitalists, and others are competing for electricity and straining the nation's electric grid.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got enough electricity to win the AI arms race with China,鈥 Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. 鈥淲hat we do in the next five years related to electricity is going to determine the next 50" years in the industry.
Still, it's unlikely the U.S. could quadruple its nuclear production in the timeframe the White House specified. The United States lacks any next-generation reactors operating commercially and Those two reactors, at a nuclear plant in Georgia, were completed years late and at least $17 billion over budget.
Trump is enthusiastic
At the Oval Office signing, Trump, surrounded by industry executives, called nuclear a 鈥渉ot industry," adding, "It鈥檚 time for nuclear, and we鈥檙e going to do it very big.鈥
Burgum and other speakers said the industry has stagnated and has been choked by overregulation.
鈥淢ark this day on your calendar. This is going to turn the clock back on over 50 years of overregulation of an industry,'' said Burgum, who chairs Trump's newly formed Energy Dominance Council.
The orders would reorganize the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure quicker reviews of nuclear projects, including an 18-month deadline for the NRC to act on industry applications. The measures also create a pilot program intended to place three new experimental reactors online by July 4, 2026 鈥 13 months from now 鈥 and invoke the Defense Production Act to allow emergency measures to ensure the U.S. has the reactor fuel needed for a modernized nuclear energy sector.
The administration is focused on boosting nuclear as 鈥渁ffordable, reliable, safe and secure power,鈥 said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The executive orders send a signal that 鈥淎merica will build again,鈥 Kratsios said. Energy Secretary Chris Wright echoed that sentiment on social media, posting that more reliable, secure and affordable energy sources 鈥 like geothermal, nuclear and natural gas 鈥 are the key to remaining the world鈥檚 energy powerhouse.
Trump has signed a spate of executive orders promoting oil, gas that warm the planet when burned to produce electricity. Nuclear reactors generate electricity without emitting greenhouse gases. Trump said reactors are safe and clean, but did not mention climate benefits.
The order to reorganize the NRC will include significant staff reductions but is not intended to fire NRC commissioners who lead the agency. David Wright, a former South Carolina elected official and utility commissioner, chairs the five-member panel. His term ends June 30, and it is unclear if he will be reappointed.
Critics have trepidations
Critics say the White House moves could compromise safety and violate legal frameworks such as the Atomic Energy Act. Compromising the independence of the NRC or encouraging it to be circumvented entirely could weaken the agency and make regulation less effective, said Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"Simply put, the U.S. nuclear industry will fail if safety is not made a priority,鈥 he said.
A number of countries are speeding up efforts to license and build a new generation of smaller nuclear reactors to meet a surging demand for electricity and supply it carbon-free. Last year, to modernize the licensing of new reactor technologies so they can be built faster.
This month, the the first of four small nuclear reactors.
Valar Atomics is a nuclear reactor developer in California. Founder and CEO Isaiah Taylor said nuclear development and innovation in the United States has been slowed by too much red tape, while Russia and China are speeding ahead. He said he's most excited about the mandate for the Energy Department to speed up the pace of innovation.
The NRC is currently reviewing and that want to build small nuclear reactors to begin providing power in the early 2030s. Currently, the NRC expects its reviews to take three years or less.
Radiant Nuclear is a clean energy startup based in El Segundo, California, that is building a nuclear microreactor. Chief Operating Officer Tori Shivanandan said the administration's support for the advanced nuclear industry will help ensure its success, and the executive orders mark a 鈥渨atershed moment" for nuclear power.
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