On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed four executive orders related to the rapid deployment of next-generation nuclear technologies in the United States. Overall, the orders represent a policy outlook on nuclear energy that has remained relatively consistent for nearly a decade. However, there are a few key breaks from precedent, especially in that the orders encourage commercial nuclear fuel recycling and decrease the independence of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
New reactors and national security
“Deploying Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security” is the most comprehensive of the four. It aims to speed the deployment of advanced reactors at Department of Defense facilities, in order to provide power for military installations and for operational energy. The executive order notes that the regulatory pathway will be through the United States Army and ambitiously calls for one reactor to be operational at a “domestic military base or installation no later than September 30, 2028.” It also calls for the deployment of advanced reactors at Department of Energy facilities, and it directs the US secretary of energy to designate artificial intelligence (AI) data centers that “are located at or operated in coordination with Department of Energy facilities . . . as critical defense facilities, where appropriate.”
In a departure from what has been the US government’s de facto stance toward commercial nuclear fuel recycling in the United States (assuming that it refers to commercial reactors), this order calls for the US secretary of energy to “identify all useful uranium and plutonium material within the Department of Energy’s inventories that may be recycled or processed into nuclear fuel for reactors in the United States.” There are currently no domestic commercial fuel recycling facilities in the United States, and the partnership outlined in this order between the Department of Energy and industry will likely be a boon to US reactor companies looking to use recycled fuel, especially as competitor countries stand up their own recycling capabilities. The order then goes on to direct the Department of Energy to provide high assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for commercial reactors that are authorized to deploy at the department’s sites. This will add to the demand signal for HALEU fuel and strengthen the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain.
Importantly, the order excludes the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for construction of advanced reactors on some federal sites. It also notes that there may be additional categories that will be excluded from adhering to NEPA. The Department of the Interior already has a number of categorical exclusions for NEPA (for example, for geothermal exploration) but does not…
Read More: What Trump’s new executive orders mean for the US nuclear energy industry
