“The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed a sweeping new licensing framework designed to push microreactors out of the lab and onto the grid at unprecedented speed. The proposed rule, called Part 57, is paired with a broader agency overhaul that earlier this year created the Office of Advanced Reactors (OAR), headed by longtime NRC official Jeremy S. Bowen. Together, the two moves represent the most significant shift in U.S. nuclear regulation in a generation—a direct response to White House Executive Order 14300 (Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and the bipartisan Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act.

Announced April 24, the proposed Part 57 rule creates a streamlined, risk-informed pathway for licensing microreactors and other reactors with comparable risk profiles. The NRC and industry estimate it will save between $3.76 billion and $11.84 billion, depending on discount rate, largely by ‘reducing exemption requests and streamlining reviews.’ Construction permit and operating license timelines could shrink to six months to a year.”

From POWER magazine.