A bill to speed approval of advanced nuclear technologies and another to change the way the Dept. of Energy’s national laboratories are managed are among a handful of energy measures the House has passed in the first weeks of its new session.
The Advanced Nuclear Technology Development Act, which the House approved on Jan. 23, would create a licensing framework for advanced nuclear reactors. The systems could use coolants such as liquid metal, fluoride salt or gas. The House passed the same bill in the last Congress, but the Senate didn’t act on it. Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), the sponsor, is confident the Senate will take up his bill or a similar one in 2017, an aide says.