The workshop, which has not yet been scheduled, will “facilitate in-depth discussions among policymakers, regulators, community experts, and technical experts from industry, national labs, and academia” on “the perceived barriers to new nuclear development and strategies that might motivate owner/operators to plan and build new nuclear projects.” It will build on recommendations from the NASEM consensus report Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States, published in April 2023.
Barriers to tackle: The workshop will focus on three main themes:
- Technology choices. Potential nuclear power plant owner/operators must consider how a technology choice—for example, choosing an advanced reactor over an existing light water reactor design—might affect financial risk. Also up for discussion are the costs and benefits of pursuing nuclear power in nontraditional off-grid deployment scenarios, such as co-location with an industrial facility or data center.
- Willingness and community support. The workshop will consider “what approaches are needed to obtain support for new nuclear deployment and to stimulate ‘first-movers,’” and how owner/operators and community-led stakeholder organizations could work together to support new nuclear projects.
- Regulatory reform. The workshop would include an update on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Part 53 framework and would ask: “What would comprise regulatory certainty for potential future owner/operators?”
More on Laying the Foundation: The NASEM Consensus Committee on Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States met for two years before publishing a 300-page report on a full range of technical, regulatory, economic, and societal challenges confronting the nuclear community as it prepares for new reactor deployments. The report included recommendations for the Department of Energy, the NRC, other federal and state agencies, and private industry. The same consensus committee released the proceedings of a workshop held as part of the study—Understanding the Societal Challenges Facing Nuclear Power—in 2022.
Not in scope were the front- and back-end fuel cycle issues previously addressed in a companion NASEM study and report—Merits and Viability of Different Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Technology Options and the Waste Aspects of Advanced Nuclear Reactors—first released in November 2022.
Get your recommendations in: Interested parties are invited to recommend an expert and provide feedback on the project. Individuals may nominate themselves or other experts for consideration to serve on the committee and to aid the committee’s efforts. The call for recommendations closes on August 30 at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
