in effect
Executive Order 14300, signed May 23, 2025, directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to overhaul its structure, staffing, regulations, and procedures to accelerate the licensing and deployment of nuclear power. It sets a national policy goal of expanding U.S. nuclear energy capacity from roughly 100 gigawatts in 2024 to 400 gigawatts by 2050.
The NRC must issue proposed new rules within 9 months and finalize them within 18 months, with DOGE team involvement in the reorganization. Hard deadlines replace the current nonbinding schedule guidelines: new reactor applications must receive a final decision within 18 months, and renewal applications for existing reactors within 12 months; NRC fee recovery is capped to enforce those deadlines. The order directs the NRC to reconsider the “linear no-threshold” radiation model and the “as low as reasonably achievable” dose standard, potentially replacing them with fixed numerical limits. It also calls for streamlined, standardized licensing pathways for small modular and microreactors, an expedited approval track for reactor designs already tested by the Department of Defense or Department of Energy, stricter limits on when the NRC can require design changes mid-construction, and a reduced role for the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.
Companies and utilities seeking to build, operate, or extend the licenses of nuclear power plants will face a faster and, by design, less costly regulatory process. The NRC itself faces workforce reductions alongside a new dedicated team of at least 20 staff focused solely on drafting the revised regulations. Members of the public who currently participate in NRC licensing hearings will encounter a streamlined—and likely shorter—public comment process.