In an effort to cut the lengthy process down to 18 months, US President Donald Trump on Friday directed the country’s independent nuclear regulatory body to loosen rules and expedite new reactor and power plant licensing.
The mandate was one of several executive orders that Trump signed on Friday with the goal of increasing nuclear energy output in the US in response to the surge in demand from artificial intelligence and data centers.
The US’s reactor licensing process, which prioritizes nuclear safety but has deterred new projects, can often take more than ten years.
“This is going to turn the clock back on over 50 years of overregulation of an industry,” .
