Public Policy
Industry Priorities for the 110th Congress
The industry's priorities are focused on facilitating the construction of new nuclear plants to provide clean, reliable baseload electricity. This page provides an overview of these priorities. For more details, see the complete backgrounder
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New Nuclear Plant Development
The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. electricity demand will increase 25 percent by the year 2030. To help meet demand, 17 companies or consortia have announced plans to file license applications with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for more than 30 new reactors.Sustaining the momentum for new nuclear plant construction will require legislative and oversight support for key policy initiatives, including matching funds for industry-government partnerships in technology development and workable implementation of the loan guarantees and production tax credits provided by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Power 2010 program requires government matching funds of $110 million in fiscal 2007 and $183 million in fiscal 2008 to complete design and engineering work for two advanced reactor designs and develop firm cost estimates. In addition, the loan guarantee provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 must be implemented.
NRC Funding and Used Fuel Management Issues
The NRC needs sufficient funding in fiscal 2007 and 2008 to ensure completion of the rulemakings needed for new nuclear plant licensing and to ensure efficient review of new plant license applications. The industry reimburses the government through user fees, but Congress must appropriate funds to support these activities in advance.Action is required by the federal government to meet its statutory and contractual obligation to move used nuclear fuel from reactor sites. The deadline for meeting this obligation passed in January 1998. Interim storage sites will enable DOE to meet its obligation to move used fuel from operating plants before the Yucca Mountain repository is operational.
Viewpoints on Nuclear Energy
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Key Issue: New Nuclear Plants
The U.S. Department of Energy projects that U.S. electricity demand will rise 25 percent by 2030. That means our nation will need hundreds of new power plants to provide electricity for our homes and continued economic growth.