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Building on recommendations from the consensus report, Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States, this workshop aims to facilitate in-depth discussions among policymakers, regulators, community experts, and technical experts from industry, national labs, and academia regarding the challenges of deploying more nuclear power in the United States as part of a decarbonization strategy. Participants will discuss the real and perceived risks of new nuclear projects and their projected timelines, the risks and opportunities of co-locating with other facilities or in non-traditional locations, and the role different designs could play in meeting growing electricity demand.
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Workshop
·2025
Recent years have brought a renewed focus on the potential for nuclear energy to help meet the United States' growing demands for abundant, reliable, low-carbon energy. Trends such as the increased electrification of transportation and industrial processes, along with the rapid expansion of data cen...
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Description
An ad hoc planning committee of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine will organize and host a two-day workshop to explore the real and perceived barriers to new nuclear development and strategies that might motivate owner/operators to plan and build new nuclear projects. Participants will focus on three main themes:
· Technology Choices. If nuclear power is being considered for a project, how does technology choice affect financial risk (i.e. pursuing advanced reactor designs over existing light water reactor designs)? What are the costs and benefits of pursuing nuclear power in non-traditional (off-grid) deployment scenarios, such as co-locating a reactor with a secondary facility (e.g. providing power to a data center, or for industrial uses)?
· Willingness and Community Support. What approaches are needed to obtain support for new nuclear deployment and to stimulate “first-movers”? What are the key financial constraints and risks? How could future owner/operators and community-led stakeholder organizations work together to support new nuclear projects?
· Regulatory Reform. What is the status of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Part 53 framework? What would comprise regulatory certainty for potential future owner/operators?
Collaborators
Staff
Jasmine Victoria Bryant
Catherine Wise
