“Categorical exclusions mean that no National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental impact statement or environmental assessment is required before a project may be approved. This saves a lot of time and bureaucratic effort since compiling an environmental impact statement takes nearly three years on average to complete.
The May executive order adopts many of the recommendations on how to improve nuclear power licensing outlined in an April 2025 report by researchers associated with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Among other items, the report suggests clarifying that the DOE does not need Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval to “authorize any non-commercial demonstration nuclear reactor projects with no exceptions.”
Now, the DOE is issuing a notice for a new categorical exclusion that would apply to new advanced nuclear reactors sited on federal facilities and land. In support of this determination, the DOE finds that “advanced nuclear reactors have key attributes such as safety features, fuel type, and fission product inventory that limit adverse consequences from releases of radioactive or hazardous material from construction, operation, and decommissioning.””
Small modular nuclear reactors may end up being a good idea, but they have problems. They require more shielding overall compared to one big reactor. As of yet, they haven’t been built with more speed. They produce energy less efficiently than one big reactor.
“The timing of this loan makes the investment all the more questionable. As CNBC reports, “When asked why Constellation was receiving the loan now,” an Energy Department official said, “Constellation could have completed the project without help from the Energy Department. But the loan will help make electricity cheaper for consumers on the grid operated by PJM Interconnection, which serves more than 65 million people across 13 states.”
Wanting to reduce electricity rates may be a worthwhile goal—energy costs are outpacing inflation and are rising faster in some states with a higher concentration of data centers—but pouring public money into restarting nuclear power plants is not the best way to achieve this.”
“Nuclear power is clean, reliable, and safe, but forcing taxpayers to bet on its future success is risky. After thriving throughout the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, the industry has been plagued by P.R. disasters and project failures that have hampered nuclear power for much of the last 30 years.”
“Unreasonably strict radiation exposure limits are holding back nuclear power development, according to a July report from Idaho National Laboratory (INL) researchers. The report challenges the current model for radiation exposure, arguing that recent evidence shows it is biologically unwarranted.”
“States that embrace renewable energy are far more likely to save money for electricity consumers than those relying on fossil fuels or nuclear power, a POLITICO analysis of federal and industry data shows — findings that undermine one of the Trump administration’s main justifications for its aggressive rollback of federal clean energy policies.”
“it’s not the policy that’s holding nuclear back: It’s the industry. All the incentives and permitting reforms the government can muster won’t change the basic economics that have led to just three new nuclear plants getting built in the U.S. this century: It takes too long, is too expensive and is only getting pricier.”
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” The nuclear industry has as much going for it right now as it’s ever had. U.S. electricity demand is growing for the first time in 20 years as data centers and artificial intelligence companies proliferate.”
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“The average cost of large-scale solar has fallen 84 percent since 2009, to $58 per megawatt-hour, while nuclear power has risen 47 percent, to $180”
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“the problem isn’t limited to the U.S. The U.K., France and Finland have all seen major cost and timeline overruns with their most recent plants. China, which is building more nuclear than anyone, has gotten its timelines down the farthest but is still around 7 years,”
Iran was creating the precursors of a nuke. Such precursors were not needed for peaceful nuclear energy. The bombings may have only set Iran back from building a nuclear device by months.