Key Issues

Licensing New Nuclear Power Plants

The vast majority of today’s 104 U.S. nuclear power plants were licensed during the 1960s and 1970s. Commercial nuclear energy was new, and the regulatory process evolved along with the new industry. Plants were issued a construction permit based on a preliminary design. Safety issues were not fully resolved until the plant was essentially complete—a process flaw that had substantial financial implications. This flaw also meant that the public did not have access to the details of the design until construction was nearly complete.
To address this process flaw, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1989 established a new licensing process: 10 CFR Part 52. Congress affirmed and strengthened the new licensing process as part of the 1992 Energy Policy Act.
The new approach to licensing nuclear power plants moves the licensing and safety issues to the front of three processes: approval of standard designs, early site permits, and combined construction permits and operating licenses. In addition, it provides greater opportunity for the public to be involved in the process. To ensure a company builds a new plant according to its license, the NRC introduced a process that determines which kinds of inspections, tests, analyses and acceptance criteria (ITAAC) it will use to ensure the plant is built according to the design approved in the licensing proceedings.

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