Search API

This brief, authored by NIA President & CEO Judi Greenwald, connects the role of advanced nuclear energy in meeting climate and energy security goals with the urgent need for NRC reform to enable advanced nuclear energy. It outlines the short-, medium- and long-term NRC reforms that are necessary to achieve that goal. It provides recommendations for action by Congress and the NRC and highlights several of NIA's recommendations for improving licensing efficiency. NIA developed this brief to serve as a guide for policymakers, the NRC itself, and key stakeholders in considering and then taking action to ensure the NRC can successfully meet this moment.

This brief was last updated in October 2025

The nuclear energy industry has gone through phases of growth and contraction throughout the 21st century. Currently, there is a resurgence in nuclear energy interest, with numerous funding rounds, project announcements, and partnership agreements in the last decade. Amid all the fervor, it can be difficult to assess the viability and maturity of individual projects and to evaluate industry progress as a whole. This document discusses several key indicators of progress that stakeholders and investors can use to assess a nuclear project’s likelihood of successful completion. These indicators include:  

• Site selection
• Licensing progress 
• Offtake agreements  
• Project team  
• Funding 

In spring 2025, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) held a workshop and conducted one-on-one interviews to discuss internal dynamics affecting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s organizational workplace culture. The workshop participants and interviewees included former NRC Commissioners, senior leadership, and staff. Based on these discussions, NIA synthesized the findings into five pillars, each containing actionable recommendations. The five pillars include: 

• Accountability, Autonomy, and Alignment 
• Leadership Development and Qualifications 
• Differing Professional Opinions, Concurrence Processes, and Interactions with the Office of General Counsel 
• Employee Retention  
• Recruitment.  

NIA published a fact sheet about nuclear waste and innovative methods for its safe and long-term management. This fact sheet demystifies nuclear waste, outlines existing management methods and highlights developments and innovations in the field of nuclear waste management.  

This factsheet is part of a series of NIA publications that provides essential insights for those newly exploring nuclear energy as well as those seeking concise information crucial to nuclear energy innovation and deployment.   

Since its enactment of the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act on July 9, 2024, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has made steady progress implementing it. The NRC is tracking its ADVANCE Act deliverables for 36 milestones on a public dashboard. This brief summarizes NRC's progress

This letter from NIA advises the NRC to focus on 19 regulatory reform recommendations in the near term, given the ambitious nuclear energy directive timelines delineated in recent executive orders and the NRC’s constrained resources.

In these comments, NIA commends the NRC for evaluating current approaches and exploring new ones for licensing microreactors and other low-consequence reactors. We first provide comments and procedural suggestions on a proposal that has been put forward by other stakeholders and that could be implemented quickly. We then provide feedback and procedural suggestions on the topics raised at NRC’s public workshop on “Licensing Requirements for Microreactors and Other Low Consequence Reactors Rulemaking” on July 17-18, 2025.

This 2025 update of the Guide incorporates new information since the 2023 update. 

This Guide serves as an introduction to new nuclear energy technologies and policies for state-level policymakers and stakeholders. The first part of this Guide describes new reactor technology and its benefits, provides an overview of enabling federal policies, and reviews state options to incentivize local development of new reactors. The second part of the Brief provides case studies of emerging state leaders in these technologies:      

• Nuclear projects in Wyoming 

• Energy Northwest’s plans in Washington State 

• The state of play in Virginia and the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium 

• Texas’ leadership in deploying new nuclear energy 

• New York's Leadership on Nuclear Energy 

Finally, the last section of this Guide is a compendium of topical briefs that elaborate the characteristics of new reactors with respect to safety, economic benefits, waste management, the flexibility and dispatchability of new nuclear power, and its timing and development. These briefs also include one-pagers on key legislative provisions to spur nuclear innovation. 

NIA held a webinar to announce the release of a new report, “New Nuclear Energy Guide for State Policymakers,” with speakers Zach Koshgarian of NIA, Cassandra Worthington of NIA, April Wade of the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium, Erich Scherer of NYSERDA, and Lauren Clay of Texas Nuclear Alliance. Thank you to our speakers and to everyone who attended.

This 2025 update of the Guide incorporates new information since the 2023 update. This Guide serves as an introduction to new nuclear energy technologies and policies for state-level policymakers and stakeholders. 

This letter from NIA commends the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its recent progress in implementing the ADVANCE Act and the President's nuclear-related executive orders.