At last week’s Regulatory Information Conference, Jamie Pelton cochaired a panel on Palisades nuclear power plant’s restart—a “historic restart,” as she put it.

Her choice of words was perhaps an understatement. After all, no U.S. nuclear plant has yet restarted after being slated for decommissioning.

Fusion leaders at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference discussed the path forward for regulating the burgeoning fusion industry. The speakers discussed government and private industry initiatives in the United States and United Kingdom, with a focus on efforts shaping the near-term deployment of commercial fusion machines.

A recurring theme was the need to explain the difference between fission and fusion. Representatives from the Department of Energy and Type One Energy highlighted this as an important distinction for regulators, as it will allow fusion to undergo its own independent maturation process for developing standards and regulations in the same way that fission has. Lea Perlas, Fusion Program director at the Virginia Department of Health, said that confusion between fission and fusion has been a common cause for misplaced concerns among community members surrounding Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ proposed fusion plant site near Richmond, Va.

Attendees at last week’s 2026 Regulatory Information Conference, hosted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, saw extensive discussion of new reactor technologies, uprates, fusion, multiunit deployments, supply chain, and much more.

With the industry in a state of rapid evolution, there was much to discuss. Connected to all these topics was one central theme: the ongoing changes at the NRC. With massively shortened timelines, the ADVANCE Act and Executive Order 14300, and new interagency collaboration and authorization pathways in mind, speakers spent much of the RIC exploring what the road ahead looks like for the NRC.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has released its 2025 annual performance assessments of the country’s 95 operating commercial nuclear reactors. And of the 95 reactors, all but five earned the highest marks.

Nuclear power plant assessments can fall under one of five categories: Licensee Response, Regulatory Response, Degraded Cornerstone, Degraded Performance, and Unacceptable Performance. Ninety reactors fell under Licensee Response, the highest performance category in safety and security. Plants that achieve this level of performance are subject to a Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) baseline inspection.

Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

So much of what is happening in federal nuclear policy these days seems driven by a common approach popularized in the technology sector. Silicon Valley calls it “move fast and break things,” a phrase originally associated with Facebook’s early culture under Mark Zuckerberg. The idea emerged in the early 2000s as software companies discovered that rapid iteration, frequent experimentation, and a willingness to tolerate failure could dramatically accelerate innovation. This philosophy helped drive the growth of the social media, smartphones, cloud computing, and digital platforms that now underpin modern economic and social life.

Today, that mindset is also influencing federal nuclear policy. The Trump administration views accelerated nuclear deployment as part of a broader competition with China for technological and AI leadership. In that context, it seems willing to accept greater operational risk in pursuit of strategic advantage and long-term economic and security objectives.

Last May, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” which mandated that the NRC review and overhaul its rules within 18 months of the EO being issued.

At a public meeting on Thursday, NRC officials shared details and an overview of the rulemaking process, saying that they were on target to have these rules ready by the November 23 deadline.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is looking for feedback on its proposed rule for fees for fiscal year 2026, which begins October 1. The proposal was published in the March 12 Federal Register.

Based on the FY 2026 budget request because a full-year appropriation has not yet been enacted for the fiscal year, the proposed request is $971.5 million, an increase of $27.4 million from FY 2025.

Yasir Arafat, president and chief technology officer of Aalo Atomics, participated in the first day of sessions at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference (RIC). There, he recapped some of the company’s recent milestones and revealed new details on what lies ahead for Aalo.

His attendance at the event coincided with a number of announcements in the past two weeks. Those announcements covered new contracts with Global Nuclear Fuel and Baker Hughes, the release of a new strategic roadmap, the completion of fuel enrichment by Urenco USA, and a new approval from the Department of Energy.

Even a last-minute cancelation from Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright could not derail the optimism permeating day 1 of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference (RIC).

The optimistic theme came up several times during the morning plenary sessions that highlighted Tuesday’s agenda. The NRC commissioners who spoke said the optimism was a result of the “nuclear renaissance” they are encountering that feels different from past nuclear-related revivals that didn’t materialize.

Prompted by the ADVANCE Act and Executive Order (EO) 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” the NRC has recently made a number of changes aimed at increasing licensing efficiency.

Today, the agency is implementing another change to the same effect, rolling out a revision of its Differing Views Program (DVP). This revision aims to significantly reduce the time each differing view requires without compromising the NRC’s commitment to safety.

The U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee has recommended Douglas Weaver be reappointed to a full five-year term on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after his current term expires on June 30.

The committee voted 15-4 in support of Weaver’s nomination on Wednesday, clearing the way for a final vote on the Senate floor. If the Senate votes to confirm Weaver, he would serve on the NRC through June 30, 2031.

Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.

This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is set to expedite its Atomic Safety and Licensing Board adjudicatory hearings on most license applications, including those involving new reactors and license renewals.

Jeremy Bowen will head the newly created Office of Advanced Reactors when it launches in September, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Monday.

This new office will license and oversee new and advanced reactors. In his role, Bowen will be responsible for the review of advanced reactor applications—reviews that the NRC said will be “expeditious.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has taken the next step toward developing fusion regulations, announcing the opening of a 90-day comment period, ending May 27, on a proposed regulatory framework.

In 2023, the NRC commissioners considered three options for the regulatory framework, ultimately selecting to integrate fusion machines into the existing byproduct material approach, which avoids classifying fusion energy systems as utilization facilities. The aim is to implement this approach through changes to 10 CFR Parts 20, 30, 37, 50, 51, 72, 110, 150, 170, and 171.

Palo Verde, with three reactors and a combined capacity of about 4,000 MWe, is the only nuclear power plant in Arizona. But that could very well change soon if state officials have their way.

Much like other states in the West, Arizona believes nuclear energy is a vital component of the state’s future energy portfolio. At a special meeting of the Arizona Corporation Commission on February 24, commissioners, officials, and others in attendance showed broad bipartisan support for expanding nuclear energy.

Constellation has submitted an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requesting three amendments to its renewed facility license to support the potential restart of Crane nuclear power plant (formerly Three Mile Island-1).

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is recommending proposed changes for the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) baseline inspection program that could reduce the number of hours spent annually on direct inspections at U.S. nuclear power plants by 38 percent.

In addition to the proposed ROP changes, NRC staff published recommendations for the baseline security program that would reduce the number of direct inspection hours necessary for this program by about 50 percent compared to current levels. This includes the Force-on-Force (FOF) inspection program.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday announced it was discontinuing three rulemaking activities intended to enhance the security of a deep geologic repository and the protection of spent nuclear fuel.

The NRC said that, among other reasons, it has decided not to proceed with the previously proposed rules due to a change in agency priorities resulting from President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) will hear arguments on February 26 on challenges to a construction permit application from Long Mott Energy (LME) for a multiunit reactor facility at Dow Chemical Company’s Seadrift site in Calhoun, Texas. LME is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow.