The challenge of keeping nuclear power construction on budget and on schedule, and other hurdles, must be resolved if advanced nuclear reactors are to play a larger role in the energy transition, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine says in a new report.
Myriad technical, regulatory, economic and societal hurdles must be overcome “to reach commercial and globally competitive viability,” says Richard A. Meserve, former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission who led the research team. While “development, testing and widespread deployment of these reactors could take several decades,” he adds, “the U.S. should address [barriers] now.”
