US nuclear power regulator plans changes in line with Trump’s goals on reactors

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. nuclear power regulator said on Wednesday it is undergoing a reorganization in line with President Donald Trump’s goals on speeding up licensing of ‍nuclear reactors.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a release it will appoint leaders for the reactor safety program and the staff’s development of a new organizational chart and management plan within 60 days. It will strive to implement the plan by the end of September, the NRC said.

Trump wants to quadruple ‌U.S. nuclear power capacity to 400 gigawatts by ‌2050 as electricity demand surges for the first time in decades, driven by data centers for AI and cryptocurrencies. Last May, he ordered the NRC to cut down on regulations and fast-track new licenses for reactors, seeking to ​shorten a multi-year process to 18 months.

“We are in one of the most consequential periods in the NRC’s history, and this reorganization ‍enables us to meet the moment with ​more efficient and timely decision making,” NRC Chairman Ho ​Nieh said in a release.

The reorganization focuses on accelerating the safe deployment ‍of nuclear technologies and achieving greater consistency in the implementation of agency safety programs across regional offices, the chairman said.

The agency will reorganize around business lines of new reactors, operating reactors and nuclear materials and waste, the NRC said.

Seth Cohen, chief counsel for nuclear policy at ‍the Department of Energy, told an American Nuclear Society conference in November that the number of personnel at the NRC would “almost certainly” grow in coming ‍years to keep up ‍with licensing.

When asked on Wednesday if the NRC ​would grow, a spokesperson said the agency was in ​the ⁠early stages of implementing the reorganization.

Trump’s push to speed ‌up reactor approvals comes despite criticism including from Ernest Moniz, a nuclear physicist and former Department of Energy Secretary, who has said reorganizing and reducing the independence of the NRC could lead to the hasty deployment of advanced reactors with safety and security flaws.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Nia Williams ⁠and Bill Berkrot)