SENATE PASSES ADVANCE ACT, NOW HEADED TO POTUS
In yet another demonstration of bipartisan support for new nuclear development, yesterday the U.S. Senate passed S. 870, An Act to Amend the
Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974. The legislation, which passed with an overwhelming majority, not only authorizes appropriations for the United States Fire Administration and firefighter assistance grant programs, it includes the Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act which supports the country’s clean energy goals by accelerating deployment of advanced nuclear technologies and makes major changes to the approval process for new
technology in the nuclear energy sector. Provisions of the ADVANCE Act include: - Directing the NRC to review its current licensing process for new nuclear technology;
- Directing the NRC within 18 months, to develop risk-informed, performance-based strategies and guidance to license and regulate microreactors;
- Directing the NRC within 180 days, to submit a report to Congress on manufacturing and construction for nuclear energy
projects;
- Directing the NRC within 12 months, to update its mission statement to convey that licensing and regulation of nuclear energy activities be conducted in a manner that does not unnecessarily limit “the benefits of nuclear energy technology to society;”
- Allowing
the NRC chair to appoint up to 120 people into the excepted service at any given time, as well as up to 20 more people into term-limited positions in any fiscal year; and
- Providing federal funding to cover licensing and other relevant costs for the first advanced nuclear power operator to successfully deploy its technology.
Earlier this year the ADVANCE act passed the House of Representatives in a 393-19 vote and passed in the Senate with an 88-2 vote. The legislation now heads to President Biden for his signature. Legislators in the House and Senate spoke on the passage of this historic nuclear energy
package: “Energy is foundational to our way of life. To maintain our standard of living, support technological innovation, and cement America’s economic and national security for generations to come, we must be investing in safe, clean, and reliable sources of baseload power. This much needed modernization of our nuclear regulatory framework will help achieve this by enabling industry to deploy safe, reliable
nuclear energy, leading to a new era of U.S. energy leadership. We are grateful to have worked alongside our Senate colleagues to pass this important legislation and look forward to President Biden signing it into law soon.” - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA); Full Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ); Energy, Climate, and Grid Security
Subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC); and Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO)
“Today, we sent the ADVANCE Act to the president’s desk because Congress worked together to recognize the importance of nuclear energy to America’s future and got the job done.” - Sen. Shelley Moore
Capito (R-WV), Ranking member of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee
“The ADVANCE Act will provide the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with the tools and workforce it needs to review new nuclear technologies efficiently, while maintaining the NRC’s critical safety mission and creating thousands of jobs.” - Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE.), chair of the Environmental and Public Works Committee
ECA applauds all the legislators who played a role in the passage of the ADVANCE Act and we look forward to leveraging their work as part of our efforts to build capacity and partnerships among federal, state, local and Tribal decision-makers, technology developers, utilities and industry
through our New Nuclear Initiative.
September 16-18, 2024| Crystal Gateway Marriott | Arlington, VA Join us for the 10th Annual National Cleanup Workshop!
Hear from senior DOE leaders, local government officials, and industry leaders about DOE's cleanup priorities, the future of the workforce, and more.
Featured Speakers: - The Honorable Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of U.S. Department of Energy
- Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), Chairman, House Appropriations Energy and Water Development
Subcommittee
- Candice Robertson, Senior Advisor, DOE-EM
- Jeff Avery, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, DOE-EM
- Greg Sosson, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations, DOE-EM
- Kristen Ellis, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regulatory and Policy Affairs, DOE-EM
- Dae Chung, Associate Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Corporate Services, DOE-EM
- James McConnell, Associate Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration
- Brent Gerry, Mayor, City of West Richland, WA; Chair, ECA and
- Rebecca Casper, Mayor, City of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Vice-Chair, ECA.
Hosted by ECA with the cooperation of the Energy Facility Contractors Group and DOE-EM, the workshop brings together more than 800 senior DOE executives, officials from DOE sites, industry leaders,
local elected officials, contractors and community stakeholders to discuss EM’s progress to address the environmental legacy of the Manhattan Project and Cold War-era U.S. nuclear weapons program.
WIPP Marks Pivotal Milestone by Completing Construction of Ventilation System The
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) has achieved a significant milestone by completing construction of the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) facility — a new, state-of-the-art, large-scale ventilation system at its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). This milestone marks the delivery of the SSCVS facilities and systems necessary to move forward with the full testing and commissioning phase to bring the facility online and operational in 2026. Read full story. Zeno looks to SHINE for SR-90 to
fuel its radioisotope power systems Wisconsin-based fusion technology company SHINE Technologies announced today the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Zeno Power to develop a nuclear materials supply chain for its commercially available radioisotope power systems (RPSs). Under the MOU, SHINE plans to provide Zeno with strontium-90 to power its RPSs, which are capable of
providing continuous power in harsh environments. Read full story.
Australian opposition puts nation's first nuclear power plants in its energy plan ahead of elections Australia’s main opposition party on Wednesday announced plans to build Australia’s first nuclear power plants as early as 2035, arguing the government’s policies for decarbonizing the economy with renewable energy sources including solar, wind turbines and green hydrogen would not work. The policy announcement ensures the major parties will be divided on how Australia curbs its greenhouse gas emissions at elections due within a year. The parties haven’t gone to an election with the same carbon reduction policies since 2007. Read full story.
Gone Fission Nuclear Report:The 2024 Interns Have Arrived June 17, 2024 | S4 E12 This is the time of year when hundreds of interns descend on DOE sites around the country. They are eager and enthusiastic, ready to soak up new information gleaned from being out of the classroom and on the job. They are a critical part of the essential pipeline that will ensure the Department of Energy's Environmental Management program will have enough qualified workers to fulfill its cleanup mission in the decades ahead. In this week's episode of
the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, host Michael Butler talks with Susan Sparks and Shannon Potter, DOE and contractor intern program managers at Portsmouth/Paducah and Oak Ridge, as well as Maurice Thompson, head of DOE's Career Pathways Program at DOE Headquarters. We will also meet Samina Mondal, an outstanding participant in the program who has quickly become a well-spoken advocate for the Environmental Management program. NPR:
Morning Edition - Bill Gates is going Nuclear: How his latest project could power U.S. homes and AI June 14, 2024 Artificial intelligence may come for our jobs one day, but before that happens, the data centers it relies on are going to need a lot of
electricity. So how do we power them and millions of U.S. homes and businesses without generating more climate-warming gases? Microsoft founder, billionaire philanthropist and investor Bill Gates is betting that nuclear power is key to meeting that need — and he’s digging into
his own pockets to try and make it happen.
C3E Webinar: Advanced Nuclear Energy - Electricity and Beyond July 11, 2024 | Zoom Register now! 2024 National Cleanup Workshop September 16-18, 2024 | Crystal Gateway Marriott (Arlington, VA) Register now!
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