• The U.S. Department of Energy in 2002 unveiled the Nuclear Power 2010 program, a 50-50 cost-shared program between DOE and the industry to demonstrate an untested new process for licensing nuclear power plants and complete the principal engineering work on two advanced designs.

• Completion of Nuclear Power 2010 will reduce uncertainty associated with building the first new nuclear plants ordered in more than two decades. This will help lower the cost of financing the plants and, ultimately, reduce the cost to consumers of the electricity these plants produce.

• Most importantly, the program will expedite expansion of the electric power sector’s leading clean-air technology amid global concerns about greenhouse gas emissions linked to the threat of climate change. The initial combined construction and operating license (COL) applications, now under review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, will serve as reference documents for future applications. Those later COL applications are expected to be streamlined—and likely less expensive—as a result of Nuclear Power 2010.

• A 2008 report on DOE research and development programs said the Nuclear Power 2010 program deserves the highest priority for funding, especially since funding gaps have caused the program to fall behind schedule.

• On July 30, 2009, the U.S. Senate approved energy and water appropriations legislation for fiscal 2010. The legislation bolsters nuclear industry efforts in several areas, including NP2010. “NEI is especially gratified that the Senate has increased to the necessary level government funding for the cost-shared Nuclear Power 2010 partnership. The Department of Energy match of $120 million in industry funding will help achieve the successful completion of this joint effort to reduce the technical and regulatory uncertainties associated with construction of advanced nuclear power plant designs,” said Alex Flint, senior vice president for governmental affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

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