On May 23, 2025, the Trump Administration issued four executive orders (EOs) to direct relevant federal agencies to support the development and deployment of nuclear energy. In a new insight, Director of Energy and Environmental Policy Shuting Pomerleau provides an overview and analysis of these EOs.

Key Points:

• The EOs are intended to significantly boost U.S. deployment of advanced nuclear technologies through directives such as expediting regulatory review processes, promoting nuclear energy exports, and reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

• There are several existing policies that support the development of nuclear energy, including the 2024 bipartisan Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act (ADVANCE Act) and tax incentives in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act for nuclear power production.

• Looking forward, several developments would determine the effectiveness of the EOs, including the interaction with the implementation of the ADVANCE Act, the administration’s pending action to repeal rules that require compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, and other non-regulatory factors such as electricity demand and high upfront capital costs of nuclear energy projects.

Read the analysis.