Proposed FY 2027 DOE, NRC budgets ask for less
The White House is requesting $1.5 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy in the fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, about 9 percent less than the previous year.
The request from the Trump administration is one of several associated with nuclear energy in the proposal, which was released Friday. Congress still must review and vote on the budget.
“The budget will allow the [DOE] to continue delivering on promises to unleash a golden era of American energy dominance, focus on scientific advancements that benefit the country, and protect the nation,” according to the DOE budget brief.
The DOE: Among the notable requests in the DOE budget targeting nuclear energy are the following:
- Providing $226 million to the agency’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, including funds for the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC), which is tasked with testing and demonstrating new reactors with the assistance of U.S. national laboratories. The ARDP allocation is nearly 16 percent less than the FY 2026 enacted budget.
- Providing $218.5 million for fuel cycle research and development, a 55 percent decrease from the FY 2026 enacted budget. However, the DOE pointed out that the two categories cut from this R&D budget line item—Used Nuclear Fuel Disposition R&D and Integrated Waste Management System—were reassigned to a new line item: Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Waste Disposition.
- Providing $3.5 billion to support activities to “rapidly generate and transmit additional baseload power,” including upgrades for coal, natural gas, and nuclear generation. This includes $203 million for the Office of Electricity and $200 million of credit subsidies within the Office of Energy Dominance Financing for eligible baseload power projects.
- A $378 million facilities maintenance and operations request for Idaho National Laboratory, an 11 percent increase from the FY 2026 enacted budget.
- A request for $10 million to fund the new Office of Fusion to support activities advancing fusion. This office “will lead the Department in advancing a set of national priorities that establishes a national strategy to build, innovate, and grow a leading, competitive, and robust American-driven fusion energy industry, to close scientific and technological gaps on the critical path toward commercializing fusion energy,” according to the DOE budget brief. But the budget does reduce funding for its contributions to the international ITER fusion project as it shifts focus to domestic fusion endeavors.
The NRC: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, meanwhile, requests $892.3 million for FY 2027, just over 8 percent less than the FY 2026 enacted budget. This includes 2,606 full-time employee equivalents, a decrease of 7 percent from the FY 2026 enacted budget.
The NRC budget request includes the following:
- A $460.7 million request for its nuclear reactor safety program, an 8.3 percent decrease from the previous year. “The decrease is due in part to anticipated efficiencies gained in oversight and licensing activities stemming from the ADVANCE Act, implementation of efficiencies associated with license renewal application reviews, and a reduction in reactor research activities,” according to the NRC budget justification report.
- A $132.4 million request for its nuclear materials and waste safety program, a 6.4 percent decrease from the FY 2026 enacted budget. According to the justification report, “the decrease is due in part to anticipated workload changes and efficiencies gained in oversight and licensing activities stemming, in part, from the ADVANCE Act.”
The bigger picture: Overall, the DOE requested $53.9 billion for FY 2027, a nearly 10 percent increase from 2026. Among the more significant items in the DOE budget are the following:
- A majority of the funding—or $32.8 billion—is allocated to the National Nuclear Security Administration, a 12 percent increase from 2026.
- A $1.2 billion request to support seven AI supercomputers at Argonne and Oak Ridge National Laboratories.
For a more detailed look at the requests, you can check out the Nuclear Energy budget in brief, the DOE budget in brief, or the NRC’s budget justification page.
