SMACNA has expressed to the United States Senate its full support of S. 1111, the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023. This legislation was introduced by Senator Shelley Moore-Capito (R-WV) and co-sponsored by a bi-partisan coalition featuring Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tom Carper (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jim Risch (R-ID), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Scott Kelly (D-AZ).
The SMACNA-backed S. 1111, The ADVANCE Act, passed 16-3 in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today. The White House is also endorsing the legislation, and we expect President Biden to sign on should it arrive anything like the form in which it moved through the Senate. The ADVANCE ACT would also modernize licensing requirements to address the needs of new technologies. The bill identifies regulatory barriers that limit the safe deployment of new nuclear technologies. These new technologies are capable of radically reducing carbon emissions. It also directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to create a pathway for conventional energy source sites to be repurposed and used in the future.
In the letter expressing SMACNA’s support, Executive Director of Government and Political Affairs Stan Kolbe stated, “SMACNA members agree that it is time to boost the development and deployment of emission-free and advanced nuclear energy and safety measures while seeking to remove additional regulatory roadblocks for the next generation of nuclear reactors. It is reassuring that a bipartisan leadership coalition of Senators ensured the legislation would reauthorize and include critical training programs to bolster our skilled and specialized nuclear workforce numbers.”
