NEICA bill heads to President Trump’s desk for signature

Bill establishes NRC fee cost-share program for advanced technologies

Also directs DOE to create domestic neutron source to test new reactors

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA), legislation designed to speed advanced reactors to market. Passed by the Senate earlier this year, the bill now goes to the White House for President Trump’s signature.

“Nuclear power has been a proven source of safe and emission-free electricity for over half a century,” Rep. and House Science, Space and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said.

“This legislation encourages private sector innovation, helps to maintain American leadership in this field, and allows us to continue to advance reliable nuclear technology. I look forward to seeing this bill signed into law.”

Among other provisions, the NEICA bill establishes an advanced nuclear energy licensing cost-share grant program between industry and the federal government to accelerate the deployment of small modular reactors and advanced reactor technologies.

“This is another positive step which demonstrates Congress’ determination to ensure America’s commercial nuclear sector has the tools and funding it needs to design and deploy the next generation of advanced reactor technologies,” NEI Vice President of Governmental Affairs Beverly Marshall said.

“We look forward to the president signing this bill into law and will continue to work with Congress and the administration to help ensure our industry can compete on a level playing field with increasingly sophisticated international competitors.”

NEICA was originally introduced by Sen. Michael Crapo (R-Idaho) and the Senate passed the bill (S 97) by unanimous consent in March.

“The passage of this legislation underscores the strong bipartisan commitment in Congress that nuclear energy must be maintained as a reliable, safe, clean and efficient part of our national energy portfolio,” Crapo said. “S 97 will eliminate barriers to innovation within the private sector and strengthen collaboration with our national labs to maintain American preeminence in nuclear energy.”

"Implementing the provisions in this bill will help accelerate the development of advanced nuclear energy technologies that are safer, less expensive, more efficient, and produce less waste than the current generation of nuclear reactors,” Rep. and House Science, Space and Technology Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) added. “I hope that it will also help ensure a brighter future for the U.S. nuclear energy industry.”

Another provision requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to award grants to cover a portion of the fees the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) charges for pre-application and application review activities for advanced nuclear reactor designs.

The legislation also directs DOE to establish a high-performance computer modeling and simulation program to advance the development of new reactor technologies. DOE would partner with national laboratories, universities and the private sector to create software and other tools to accelerate research into advanced fission reactors, fusion systems and reactors used for space exploration.

To help accelerate the development of advanced technology reactors, the legislation directs DOE to develop a reactor-based fast neutron source to test advanced reactor fuels and materials. With the only commercially-available fast neutron testing facility currently located in Russia, a U.S.-based facility would help restore this important capability. The bill also provides for the sharing of technical information and expertise between DOE and the NRC, which could accelerate NRC licensing of advanced reactor designs.

In January 2017, Oregon-based small modular reactor (SMR) developer NuScale Power LLC submitted to the NRC the first-ever design certification application for an SMR, moving the company and its partners closer to construction of the nation’s first SMR facility at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

NEICA could help accelerate the deployment of NuScale’s SMR and other small reactor designs and advanced technology reactors by lowering the regulatory cost and burden associated with the NRC licensing process. Additionally, the legislation would help researchers and engineers improve and refine these technologies more quickly thanks to real-world and virtual tools including a new fast neutron reactor and high-performance computer modeling and simulation capabilities.

The full text of the bill is available.