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 sources including data centers for AI and cryptocurrencies. Last May, he ordered the NRC to cut down regulations and fast-track new licenses for reactors, seeking to shorten a multi-year process down 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, he said.
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 Chris Reese and Nia Williams)
