- $1.2 billion for DOE’s nuclear energy programs, 20 percent increase from 2017
- Robust funding supports current fleet, R&D for advanced reactors
- NRC budget includes $16 million reduction in fees charged to licensees
The U.S. Congress last week passed an omnibus budget for the remainder of fiscal 2018. The $1.3 trillion spending measure, signed by President Trump March 23, includes just over $1.2 billion in support for the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear energy programs and $922 million for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The nuclear energy industry is pleased with the overwhelming support for nuclear energy evident in the budget bill.
“We commend and thank congressional appropriators for their recognition that investment in nuclear energy technologies will deliver enormous benefits to our energy system, our environment, our workers and our national security,” NEI Vice President of Policy Development and Public Affairs John Kotek said.
DOE’s top-line funding for nuclear energy programs increased by nearly 20 percent over last year’s budget and supports a broad range of nuclear energy research and development (R&D) programs that will help sustain the current fleet of nuclear reactors, including programs focusing on subsequent license renewal ($47 million) and accident tolerant fuels ($85 million), Kotek explained.
Robust funding ($237 million, up by $105 million from fiscal 2017) also has been provided to speed the deployment of the next generation of advanced reactors. This includes $60 million for solicitation to support technical, first-of-a-kind engineering and design and regulatory development of light water and nonlight water reactor technologies, including small modular reactors.
Computer modeling and simulation programs and other next-generation nuclear technologies are being funded. Funding also is provided to sustain and augment the nuclear energy research and testing capabilities at DOE’s national laboratories and at U.S. universities, including $35 million to begin development of a new, versatile test reactor.
The budget restores funding for DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy ($353 million) and the Title XVII Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program that supports the construction of new reactors.
The budget does not include funding to advance the Yucca Mountain licensing or interim used fuel storage programs.
However, it does include sufficient funds for the cleanup of DOE legacy sites (including funds for gaseous diffusion plant cleanup) to allow Energy Secretary Perry to announce a halt to the uranium bartering scheme the department was using in recent years to pay for the cleanup.
Perry’s announcement addresses long-held concerns by the industry about the effect of the periodic releases of government uranium stockpiles onto an already depressed market.
The NRC was funded at $922 million, a reduction of $30 million from the president’s request for fiscal 2018. Importantly, Congress reduced the portion of the NRC’s revenues that the agency recovers from industry fees by $16 million, in part by removing some budget items from its fee basis.
“Even with these reduced charges to licensees, the budget still includes sufficient funding to continue the NRC’s strong oversight of today’s reactors while allowing the agency to make important advancements in the licensing of next-generation technologies and transform its culture,” Kotek said.
“All told we are extremely pleased with the outcome for fiscal 2018. We are grateful to the House and Senate leadership—energy appropriations subcommittee chairmen Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and ranking members Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio)—and the committee members who have enabled such an important and timely investment in the future of nuclear energy in the United States.”
Meanwhile, budget hearings on the president’s NRC and DOE spending requests for fiscal 2019 are underway and will continue in the coming weeks. Some highlights from the 2019 DOE budget request are presented in the last column of the table below.
Nuclear Energy Funding
As of March 2018
(in millions of dollars)
| FY 2017 Enacted (Omnibus) | FY 2018 President’s Budget | FY 2018 Enacted (Omnibus) | FY 2019 President’s Budget | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology | 1,016.6 | 703 | 1,205.6 | 757 |
| Program Direction | 80 | 66.5 | 80 | 66.5 |
| Reactor Concepts R&D | 132 | 94 | 237 | 163 |
| Radiological Facilities Management | 17 | 9 | 20 | 9 |
| Idaho Facilities Management | 237.7 | 204 | 288 | 204 |
| Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies | 115.1 | 105.4 | 159 | 116 |
| Fuel Cycle R&D | 207 | 88.5 | 260a | 60 |
| International Nuclear Energy Cooperation | 3 | 2.5 | 3 | 2.5 |
| Nuclear Nonproliferation | 1,902 | 1,793 | 2,048 | 1,862 |
| Material Management and Minimization | 288.3 | 332 | 308.6 | 332 |
| Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility | 335 | 270 | 335 | 220 |
| Nuclear Nonproliferation R&D | 469.7 | 446 | 556.5 | 456 |
| ARPA-E | 306 | 0b | 353.3 | 0 |
| Defense Environmental Cleanup | 5,405 | 5,537 | 5,988 | 5,630 |