Trump unleashes US nuclear renaissance with bold executive orders

In his famed Atoms for Peace speech President Eisenhower proclaimed that the United States knows that peaceful power from atomic power is no dream of the future That dream was soon realized as America built more than one hundred reactors over the next twenty-five years But this day the promise of nuclear capacity and innovation does indeed seem like a dream of the future Through a series of executive orders signed this week President Trump is taking action to usher in an American nuclear renaissance For the first time in a great number of years America has a path forward for briskly and safely testing advanced nuclear reactor designs constructing new nuclear reactors at scale and building a strong domestic nuclear industrial base TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS BOLSTERING NUCLEAR INDUSTRY DOMESTIC URANIUM MININGOur stagnation was not for a lack of ingenuity or desire to innovate among America s great scientists and technologists By the end of the s dozens of nuclear reactors were planned or under construction In the past years however only three commercial nuclear reactors have been built and various more have been shuttered We know America can accomplish great feats in nuclear potential so what happened In the wake of the Three Mile Island accident in population opinion began to sour on nuclear vitality and the effects of a decade of new federal bureaucracies began to set in Overly burdensome regulations stifled our ability to even test let alone deploy new nuclear technologies The Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC set the gold standard for safety regulation when it was established in but it soon transformed into a lead curtain for innovation Onerous environmental requirements and long uncertain regulatory timelines have killed industry s willingness to fund new technologies Similarly the Department of Defense DOD and the Department of Potential s DOE National Labs which once led the world in the advancement and demonstration of advanced nuclear technologies shuttered nuclear progress programs shifting focus to other priorities All but three of fifty-two reactors at Idaho National Laboratory have been decommissioned and it has been almost half a century since the Army Nuclear Power Operation was shut down These decisions eroded our domestic nuclear supply chain undermined our national shield and left us having to relearn what we once pioneered President Trump wisely recognizes that the time is ripe for an American nuclear renaissance and is acting to deliver on the promise of nuclear potential for the American people Across the country American entrepreneurs and engineers are launching a new generation of nuclear companies featuring innovative reactor designs and scalable manufacturing techniques that can make nuclear safe efficient and economic The Trump Administration will clear their path by dismantling outdated limitations that previous administrations had put up in their way In current times nuclear power plants provide approximately of the electricity generated in the United States more than solar and wind combined That is reliable and affordable electricity for the American people and it could and should be even more The Trump Administration is setting the goal of expanding American nuclear capacity maximum from GW the present day to GW by This week s executive actions will help us reach that goal in four solutions First we are going to fully leverage our DOE national laboratories to increase the speed with which we test new nuclear reactor designs There is a big difference between a paper reactor and a practical reactor The only way to bridge that gap understanding the challenges that must be surmounted to bring reactors to the realm and building masses trust in their deployment is to test and evaluate demonstration reactors Second for our national and economic guard we are going to leverage the Departments of Defense and Power to build nuclear reactors on federally owned land This will endorsement critical national precaution requirements which require reliable high-density power sources that are invulnerable to external threats or grid failures CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONThird to lower regulatory burdens and shorten licensing timelines we are asking the NRC to undergo broad cultural change and regulatory overhaul requiring a decision on a reactor license to be issued within months This will reduce regulatory uncertainty while maintaining nuclear safety We will also reconsider the use of radiation limits that are not science based impossible to achieve and do not increase the safety of the American people Fourth we will be supporting our domestic nuclear industrial base across the nuclear fuel cycle The President has called for industry to start mining and enriching uranium in America again as well as an expansion of domestic uranium conversion quota as well as enrichment capabilities to meet projected civilian and defense reactor requirements When President Eisenhower spoke about nuclear promising over years ago he expressed no doubt that the world s best scientists and engineers if empowered to test and develop their ideas could turn nuclear ability into a universal efficient and economic source of power In we have only to believe in American technologists and give them the chance to build to turn nuclear power into power dominance and national precaution for all