Public Efforts to Support Next-Generation Nuclear Gaining Traction

A bill to provide tax exemptions for manufacturers of small modular reactors was introduced in the Washington state legislature.  Although in the early stages, this bill provides a new and potentially useful model for other states to follow to boost their advanced nuclear and SMR industries.  At a recent conference at Argonne National Laboratory, NuScale, the first SMR reactor to submit a design certification application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, highlighted the potential SMRs hold for creating U.S. manufacturing jobs. Washington state’s legislation is a timely effort to court NuScale and other SMR designers, with a mission to increase “the number of jobs in the small modular reactor industry in Washington.”

Public efforts to boost private-sector progress in developing next-generation nuclear reactors are essential to the growth of this societally important industry.  Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative, which seeks to leverage DOE laboratory facilities to benefit private reactor startups, was specifically called out by Secretary of Energy Perry in his confirmation hearing as an example of a successful public-private partnership.  In this vein, a recently launched organization, SMR Start, seeks to provide an additional targeted boost to policy reform efforts, with an aim towards “the successful commercialization of SMRs by enabling the establishment of supportive policies.”

Third Way, a strong promoter of policies to support the advanced nuclear industry, will likely discuss methods to provide public support for advanced reactors at its upcoming Advanced Nuclear Summit & Showcase being held this Tuesday, February 21 (and which can be livestreamed here).

Authored by Amy Roma and Sachin Desai.