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Live call

Is small modular nuclear power viable now that the NRC's new licensing rule is final?

Trigger pending since 2026-10-25 · ledger #14

Licensing has crossed; first-of-a-kind cost and commercial operation have not.

Short answer

The NRC's technology-inclusive licensing rule, Part 53, was published on 30 March 2026 and took effect on 29 April 2026: the regulatory precondition has crossed. NuScale's first planned plant, the UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project, was cancelled in 2023 on cost. Commercial power from a new small reactor in the US is the trigger still pending.

Killing constraint
Licensing path and first-of-a-kind cost
E5 Legal permission / regulation + E1 Cost curve
Crossing
2026-04-29
10 CFR part 53 takes effect (licensing crossed); commercial operation pending.

Advanced reactors needed a licensing framework built for them, then a first plant that delivers power at a price utilities accept.

Graveyard

Companies that died proving people wanted this. Capital shown where it was disclosed.

CompanyYearsCapitalHow it diedSource
Transatomic Power2011–2018—Shut down, September 2018source M
UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project (NuScale)
a project, not a company		died 2023—Cancelled, November 2023, after cost estimates rosesource M

What changed, dated

  • NRC final rule: Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors (part 53), effective 29 April 2026. source H

Regulatory activity

Federal Register documents matched to this category, refreshed weekly. The dates are what an E5 (legal permission) crossing hangs on.

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