By: Mari Reott*
Abstract
Humanity is facing an environmental emergency. Climate change is forcing the world to mitigate the harm caused by fossil fuels and acclimate through innovation, either by creating new technology or updating existing technology. The technology required to address climate change includes energy sources that do not emit greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, such as wind, solar, hydropower, and nuclear energy.
For the nuclear industry, pictures of large power plants looming above towns come to mind. The current generation of nuclear reactors caused the industry to idle because of safety, cost, and flexibility concerns. Modernization aims to cure the industry’s stagnation through small modular reactors (“SMRs”). SMRs are poised to usher in the future of the nuclear industry, and they are a leading participant in confronting climate change.
Before SMRs can benefit society, however, they face a significant barrier to entry into the energy sector: federal regulation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) heavily regulates the nuclear industry. Such regulation limits SMRs because current regulations were designed for older, larger reactors. These regulations follow a deterministic approach, using more rigid compliance criteria for reactor designs than the contemporary, risk-informed approach. Throughout the twenty-first century, the NRC has failed to adequately update the licensing of nuclear reactors, inhibiting the approval, and thus the implementation of, SMRs. After years of conforming to an old design standard, the nuclear industry has radically changed the look and use of nuclear reactors for the better. If the industry was able to invest in new technology and adapt, with hopes of aiding the future of humanity, then the NRC can, too. The NRC’s best opportunity for reducing restrictive, deterministic criteria is to remove those criteria when creating 10 C.F.R. § 53, allowing SMRs to successfully enter the energy arena.
* J.D. Candidate, The Pennsylvania State University School of Law, 2024.