Ordering The Reform Of The Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Faster approvals, lower regulatory costs, and expanded reactor deployment could increase dependable electricity for manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and other energy-intensive industries while reshaping federal nuclear-safety oversight.

What the order does ​

• Sets a national goal of expanding nuclear capacity from about 100 gigawatts in 2024 to 400 gigawatts by 2050.
• Orders the NRC to reorganize, reduce staffing overall, expand new-reactor licensing capacity, and create a team of at least 20 officials to rewrite regulations.
• Requires proposed regulatory revisions within nine months and final rules and guidance within 18 months.
• Caps licensing decisions at 18 months for new reactors and one year for continued operation of existing reactors, with fee caps tied to those deadlines.
• Directs the NRC to reconsider current radiation-exposure models and adopt more determinate, data-backed safety thresholds where appropriate.
• Creates expedited and high-volume licensing pathways for federally tested designs, modular reactors, and microreactors.
• Directs streamlined environmental reviews, public hearings, reactor oversight, security requirements, license renewals, and mid-construction design-change demands.
• Reduces the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to the minimum staffing and functions required by law.

Who it affects ​

• Nuclear plant operators, reactor developers, license applicants, and nuclear technology suppliers.
• NRC employees and members of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.
• Manufacturers, artificial-intelligence companies, and other industries seeking large amounts of dependable electricity.
• Communities hosting operating, proposed, shuttered, or partially completed nuclear facilities.