Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee released legislation that would give the Department of Energy expanded authority to develop and regulate the safety of experimental nuclear reactors.
The “Nuclear Energy Innovation and Deployment Act (NEIDA),” co-sponsored by Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), would significantly reduce the role of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in overseeing DOE test reactors, with the aim of cutting regulatory barriers and accelerating commercialization.
“To meet demand, we must accelerate the development of nuclear energy by removing regulatory barriers, unlocking federal resources, and creating a path from demonstration to deployment,” Lee said. “Other countries are already preparing their grids for the next generation of technologies. The United States should be doing the same.”
At a recent ENR hearing on nuclear energy programs, John Wagner, director of Idaho National Laboratory, urged lawmakers to address what he described as a “statutory gap” in oversight for next-generation reactors supported by federal funding and testing.
