The U.S. nuclear industry is standing at its most volatile regulatory moment yet—one that will shape the trajectory and the safety of the industry for decades to come. Recent judicial, legislative, and executive actions are rewriting the rules governing the licensing and regulation of nuclear power reactors. Although these changes are intended to promote and accelerate the deployment of new nuclear energy technologies, the collision of multiple legal shifts—occurring simultaneously and intersecting with profound technological uncertainties—is overwhelming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and threatening to destabilize investor and industry expectations.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy is requesting comments on a draft voluntary agreement for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Defense Production Act (DPA) Consortium, with a short deadline of November 24 for comments.

Notice of the request for comments, along with the text of the draft voluntary agreement, was published in the November 17 Federal Register.

The Department of Energy announced on November 18 that it has closed on a $1 billion loan through its Loan Programs Office to Constellation to aid in financing the restart of the 835-MWe Crane Clean Energy Center, formerly Three Mile Island-1.

AI for energy, and energy for AI: that is the new refrain. But can nuclear power plants be deployed at the pace needed for substantial and timely contributions to the energy infrastructure? For Westinghouse, delivering its AP1000 on time and on budget in the United States is a challenge not yet accomplished, while newcomers like Aalo Atomics are turning to AI to speed design, permitting, and construction.

As part of the Janus Program, announced in October, the Department of the Army is seeking potential commercial vendors to build microreactor power plants at nine military installations that are under consideration.

Nieh

Earlier today, the U.S. Senate officially confirmed Ho Nieh in a 66–32 vote to serve as a commissioner on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission through the remainder of a term that will expire June 30, 2029. All present Republicans, alongside 15 Democrats and one Independent, cast their votes in favor of Nieh, who was nominated by President Trump in July and fills the seat left vacant following the dismissal of former commissioner Christopher Hanson.

NRC details: The commission leading the NRC now comprises four members. Nieh joins Chair David Wright and commissioners Bradley Crowell and Matthew Marzano. One spot remains unfilled after the resignation of Annie Caputo in July. President Trump nominated Douglas Weaver earlier this month to fill Caputo’s seat.

Due to the days lost to the government shutdown, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the public comment period for a draft environmental impact statement for the TX-1 advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility being built in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox joined Brigham City Mayor D. J. Bott this week to announce a new partnership among the state, city, Hi Tech Solutions, and Holtec International. The partnership plans to develop a “full-scale nuclear energy ecosystem” based in Brigham City that will feature advanced manufacturing, workforce development, and Holtec’s SMR-300.

Valar Atomics has announced that its Nova Core achieved zero-power criticality on November 17 at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) at the Nevada National Security Site.