U.S. is all-in on nuclear — why not Minnesota?
Last week, the White House issued four executive orders designed to revitalize the U.S. nuclear industry. With Minnesota’s 1994 moratorium on new nuclear power plants, the state will be left in the dust as the rest of the U.S. encourages investment in this reliable, baseload source of electricity.
The first executive order, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy,” identifies flagging research efforts at National Laboratories controlled by the Department of Energy. The DOE will be required to issue guidance as to what counts as a qualified test reactor and approve at least three reactors under a pilot program. These reactors would aim to demonstrate criticality by July 4, 2026. The Department also must reform its governing rules on environmental review no later than June 30, 2025.
The second executive order, “Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security,” requires the Secretary of Defense to commence the operation of a nuclear reactor at a domestic military base or installation no later than September 30, 2028. The order also requires the Secretary of Energy to design AI data centers located at DOE facilities and to designate at least one DOE site for the use of advanced nuclear reactor technologies. The order also deals with uranium inventories that could be recycled or reprocessed into useable fuels.
The third order, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” could hold the most importance for the nuclear energy industry long-term. The order sets a goal for the U.S. to expand American nuclear energy capacity from 100 GW in 2024 to 400 GW by 2050. The order notes that the NRC fails to license new reactors thanks to a “myopic policy of minimizing even trivial risks” that “ignores the reality that substitute forms of energy production also carry risk” and references Spain’s devastating blackouts.
The NRC will “undertake a review and wholesale revision of its regulations and guidance documents” and issue proposed rulemaking within 9 months and issue final rules within 18 months. The NRC will consider establishing fixed deadlines for evaluation and approval of licenses, revise its environmental review regulations, establish an expedited pathway for reactor designs that have been approved by Departments of Defense or Energy, and streamline processes for licensing microreactors and modular reactors.
In the fourth order, “Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base,” it notes that it is U.S. policy to “expedite and promote to the fullest possible extent the production and operation of nuclear energy to provide affordable, reliable, safe, and secure energy.” The order requires that within 240 days, the Secretary of Energy and others to prepare a report on spent fuel management as well as recycling and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. The Secretary shall also “develop a plan to expand domestic uranium conversion capacity” within 120 days. In conjunction with industry, the DOE will also facilitate (through its Loans Programs Office) 5 gigawatts of power uprates to existing reactors and have 10 new large reactors under construction by 2030. The order also encourages the nuclear energy industry workforce.
The administration is putting its money where its mouth is with the Bureau of Land Management’s approval of a Utah uranium-vanadium mine. The Velvet-Wood project was the first project modification approved under an accelerated 14-day environmental review process. This timeline was achievable because it is an existing mine and would result in only three acres of new surface disturbance. Domestic sources of uranium are important to the U.S.: our commercial reactors imported 99% of the fuel they used in 2023, with Canada, Australia, and Russia being the top three sources of imports that year.
Minnesota stands to be left behind if policymakers don’t soon decide to lift the nuclear moratorium. Legislators looking for a bipartisan win would be wise to keep pushing for commonsense reform.