Nuclear Energy Policy

Abstract

Nuclear energy issues facing Congress include federal incentives for new commercial reactors, radioactive waste management policy, research and development priorities, power plant safety and regulation, nuclear weapons proliferation, and security against terrorist attacks. Significant incentives for new commercial reactors were included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT05, P.L. 109-58). These include production tax credits, loan guarantees, insurance against regulatory delays, and extension of the Price-Anderson Act nuclear liability system. Together with higher fossil fuel prices and the possibility of greenhouse gas controls, the federal incentives for nuclear power have helped spur renewed interest by utilities and other potential reactor developers. Plans for as many as 31 reactor license applications have been announced, although it is unclear how many of those projects will move forward.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 10, 2009
Accession Number
ADA513533

Entities

People

  • Mark Holt

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Climate Change
  • Energy Production
  • Environment
  • Environmental Protection
  • Fissile Materials
  • Greenhouse Effect
  • Law
  • Natural Resources
  • Nuclear Energy
  • Nuclear Fuels
  • Nuclear Materials
  • Nuclear Power Plants
  • Nuclear Reactors
  • Personnel Management
  • Plant Structures
  • United States
  • Waste Management

Fields of Study

  • Physics
  • Political science

Readers

  • Economics
  • Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Engineering.
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security