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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is undergoing a “significant reorganization” to align with President Trump’s goal of speeding up nuclear reactor licensing (Reuters, subscription).

What’s going on: The agency “said in a release it will appoint leaders for the reactor safety program and the staff’s development of a new organizational chart and management plan within 60 days. It will strive to implement the plan by the end of September.”

• The president aims to increase America’s nuclear power capacity fourfold in the next 24 years, to 400 gigawatts.
• In May, he called on the NRC to speed up the new reactor licensing process with the goal of taking it from several years to 18 months.
• The push coincides with an increase in national energy demand, driven in large part by artificial intelligence use and the data centers needed to power the technology.

What it will do: “The reorganization focuses on accelerating the safe deployment of nuclear technologies and achieving greater consistency in the implementation of agency safety programs across regional offices, [NRC Chairman Ho Nieh] said.”

• The NRC will regroup around three business lines: new reactors, existing reactors and nuclear materials and waste.
• The reorganization will likely mean additional hires and growth at the NRC.

Our view: “Nuclear energy provides safe and clean baseload power, and manufacturers support responsible efforts to streamline reviews and approvals to bring new power generation online,” NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen said. “Manufacturers’ top priority is always safety, and we know the NRC will prioritize that in its restructuring.”