Trump Signs Executive Orders to Boost Nuclear Energy Even as Regulatory Body Remains Understaffed

Limerick
Generating
Station,
a
nuclear
power
plant
near
homes
in
Royersford,
Montgomery
County,
Pennsylvania.
halbergman
/
E+
/
Getty
Images

President

Donald
Trump
on
Friday
signed
four

executive
orders
intended
to
stimulate
a
“nuclear
energy
renaissance”
by
building
new
reactors
to
meet
the
electricity
demands
of

artificial
intelligence
(AI)
data
centers
and
other
emerging
industries.

The
executive
orders
clear
a
path
for
construction
on
America’s

federal
lands,
allow
for
design
testing
of

nuclear
reactors
at
United
States
Department
of
Energy
labs
and
“remove
regulatory
barriers
by
requiring
the
Nuclear
Regulatory
Commission
to
issue
timely
licensing
decisions,”
a
press
release
from
the
White
House
said.

“Over
the
last
30
years,
we
stopped
building
nuclear
reactors
in
America
–
that
ends
now.
Today’s
executive
orders
are
the
most
significant
nuclear
regulatory
reform
actions
taken
in
decades.
We
are
restoring
a
strong
American
nuclear
industrial
base,
rebuilding
a
secure
and
sovereign
domestic
nuclear
fuel
supply
chain,
and
leading
the
world
towards
a
future
fueled
by
American
nuclear
energy.
These
actions
are
critical
to
American
energy
independence
and
continued
dominance
in
AI
and
other
emerging
technologies,”
said
Michael
Kratsios,
the
director
of
science
and
technology
at
the
White
House
Office
of
Science.

The
executive
orders
“expand
America’s
Energy
Dominance
agenda,”
according
to
Secretary
of
the
Interior
Doug
Burgum.

[embedded content]

On
the
first
day
of
his
second
term
as
president,
Trump
declared
an
energy
emergency,
moving
to
reverse
a
Biden-era
pause
on
new
export
terminals
for
natural
gas
and
to
expand

drilling
for
oil
and
gas
in

Alaska.

Nuclear
energy
doesn’t
produce
the

carbon
emissions
that
the
use
of

fossil
fuels
does,
but
it
does
produce

radioactive
waste
that
the
country
does
not
have
the
ability
to
permanently
store,
reported
The
Guardian.
Environmental
groups
have
expressed
concerns
about
the
safety
of
nuclear
reactors,
as
well
as
their
supply
chain.

The
executive
orders
are
intended
to
reform
the
Nuclear
Regulatory
Commission
with
the
purpose
of
advancing
nuclear
technologies
and
lowering
regulatory
barriers,
while

increasing
the
country’s
nuclear
capacity
from
100
to
400
gigawatts
by
mid-century,
a
press
release
from
the
American
Nuclear
Society
said.

“Mark
this
day
on
your
calendar.
This
is
going
to
turn
the
clock
back
on
over
50
years
of
overregulation
of
an
industry,”
Burgum
said
at
an
event
where
the
orders
were
signed,
as
The
Guardian
reported.
“President
Trump
here
today
has
committed
to
energy
dominance,
and
part
of
that
energy
dominance
is
that
we’ve
got
enough
electricity
to
win
the
AI
arms
race
with

China.”

In
past
decades,
accidents
at
nuclear
plants
both
in
the
U.S.
and
overseas
have
caused
public
opposition
to
nuclear
energy.
And
while
Trump
has
described
nuclear
technology
as
“very
safe,”
the
downsizing
of
the
federal
workforce
by
the
Department
of
Government
Efficiency,
such
as
layoffs
at
the
National
Nuclear
Security
Administration
—
which
oversees
the
country’s
nuclear
arsenal
—
has
created
issues.

The
job
cuts
have
been
feared
to
hinder
the

cleanup
of
decades-old
nuclear
waste
at
the
Hanford
nuclear
plant
in
Washington
state,
which
was
decommissioned
in
1989.

Republicans
in
Congress
have
made
efforts
to
implement
Trump’s
energy
policies
while
reversing
those
of
the
former
Biden
administration.

This
week,
the
sweeping

One
Big
Beautiful
Bill
Act
was
passed
by
the
U.S.
House
of
Representatives.
It
alters
the
availability
of
tax
incentives
for

renewable
energy
plants,
limiting
them
to
projects
that
begin
construction
60
days
after
enactment
of
the
bill
and
are
finished
by
2028.

Meanwhile,
nuclear
power
plants
have
until
2028
to
start
construction.

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