The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has passed a bill in support of advanced nuclear reactor deployment, various media sources said Tuesday.
The Nuclear Energy Leadership Act legislation, allows the federal government to sign a long-term power purchase agreement for a period of up to 40 years, extending from the current 10, as well as deploy new reactor designs at government facilities.
The legislation directs the secretary of energy to establish advanced nuclear goals, provide for a versatile, reactor-based fast neutron source; makes available high-assay, low-enriched uranium for research, development, and demonstration of advanced nuclear reactor concepts; and will also serve other purposes, according to the bill text.
The bill was originally introduced by a small group of senators in 2018, but the Senate was unable to vote on it before the Congressional session ended, according to World Nuclear News. A bipartisan group of 15 senators later introduced the bill to the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), the largest organization of lawyers in the United States, in March.
