Written Testimony of Dr. Ashley E. Finan Policy Director Nuclear Innovation Alliance Before the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Committee on Environment & Public Works U.S. Senate Enabling Advanced Reactors

The testimony identifies significant regulatory barriers to advanced nuclear energy in the United States, specifically the NRC's reliance on light water reactor (LWR) standards and a high-risk, front-loaded investment profile for licensing. To address these, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) recommends a staged licensing process utilizing licensing project plans (LPP), topical reports, and a 'statement of licensing feasibility' to provide early feedback to developers. The document advocates for S.2795 to provide dedicated funding for a technology-inclusive, risk-informed, and performance-based regulatory framework, while suggesting a shift in the NRC's budget structure from a fee-based model to one with more consistent public funding for new regulation development.

• The current NRC licensing process creates a significant financial hurdle for innovators because it requires 'enormous front-loaded investment during a protracted development and licensing phase' without a staged structure for early feedback.
• Existing NRC regulations are primarily designed for light water reactor (LWR) technologies and are not suited for advanced reactors that use 'substantially different fuels, cooling systems, and safety strategies'.
• The NIA recommends the implementation of a Licensing Project Plan (LPP), which would act as a 'living document' and 'roadmap' to define schedules, testing requirements, and budgets through meaningful stage-gates.
• The NIA proposes an optional 'statement of licensing feasibility' process to allow the NRC to assess if a design is 'conceptually aligned and consistent with established regulatory requirements' early in the process, reducing cost and duration for stakeholders.
• The document advocates for a transition to a 'risk-informed, performance-based licensing approach' to allow the NRC to review a diverse range of advanced reactor technologies more effectively.
• The NIA suggests that Congress should change the NRC's budget from a '90% fee-based, 10% public funding model' to one where Congress funds the development of new regulations for advanced technologies and R&D.
• S.2795 is identified as a critical bill that would provide the 'dedicated funding' necessary for the NRC to build a technology-inclusive regulatory infrastructure without diverting funds from existing operating plants.

APA

Finan, A. E. (2016). Written Testimony of Dr. Ashley E. Finan Policy Director Nuclear Innovation Alliance Before the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Committee on Environment & Public Works U.S. Senate Enabling Advanced Reactors. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094342/CATF_Testimony_AshleyFinan2.pdf

Chicago

Finan, Ashley E. Written Testimony of Dr. Ashley E. Finan Policy Director Nuclear Innovation Alliance Before the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Committee on Environment & Public Works U.S. Senate Enabling Advanced Reactors. Clean Air Task Force, 2016. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094342/CATF_Testimony_AshleyFinan2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Finan |first1=Ashley E. |title=Written Testimony of Dr. Ashley E. Finan Policy Director Nuclear Innovation Alliance Before the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Committee on Environment & Public Works U.S. Senate Enabling Advanced Reactors |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=21 April 2016 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094342/CATF_Testimony_AshleyFinan2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{finan2016written, author = {Finan, Ashley E.}, title = {{Written Testimony of Dr. Ashley E. Finan Policy Director Nuclear Innovation Alliance Before the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Committee on Environment \& Public Works U.S. Senate Enabling Advanced Reactors}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2016}, month = apr, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094342/CATF_Testimony_AshleyFinan2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }