Ashley Finan and Amy Roma on Speed, Safety, and Reforming Nuclear Energy

**Ashley Finan** (0:03)
We're really seeing policy makers treating nuclear energy as being central to our energy security. And as that pertains to nuclear regulation, I think that policy makers see that efficient regulation is key to meeting many of those bigger goals that we have as a country.

**Amy Roma** (0:23)
When you talk about change writ large, all reactor licenses, the entire culture of the agency, it is slow to change, right? When the NRC actually has a specific license application in front of them, whether it's novel, whether it's first of a kind, they actually do a really good job. And I think that is lost on people.

**Jason Bordoff** (0:45)
For years, the energy transition has been discussed as a shift that will happen in steady, predictable increments. But a massive surge in electricity demand in recent years, now colliding with a fracturing geopolitical landscape, has reshaped the global race for clean, reliable power. All of this has pulled nuclear energy back to the center of the national conversation, with many policymakers from both sides of the aisle calling for a nuclear renaissance. But past multi-billion dollar cost overruns on traditional gigawatt scale projects still hang over the sector. Even as a novel pipeline of small modular reactors and other advanced nuclear technologies promise to reshape the grid and the future of nuclear technology. This has put renewed attention on whether the US regulatory system is ready for the scale and the speed of what's needed. So what reforms are key to supporting the US nuclear energy sector? What needs to be done to ensure speed, safety and predictability? And where do policymakers need to be careful to preserve the credibility, the independence and public trust that make nuclear regulation durable over the long term?
This is Columbia Energy Exchange, a weekly podcast from the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. I'm Jason Bordoff.
Today on the show, Ashley Finan and Amy Roma. Ashley is the Jay and Jill Bernstein Fellow right here at the Center on Global Energy Policy. She previously served in senior leadership roles at Idaho National Lab, where she worked on nuclear energy and on national security issues. Amy's a partner at the law firm, Orrick, where she advises clients on legal, business and policy matters related to the existing nuclear fleet, as well as advanced reactors, fusion facilities and supporting nuclear infrastructure. She is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center.
Ashley and Amy joined me to discuss the growing nuclear industry and evolving landscape of nuclear regulation. We discussed how utilities and infrastructure companies are responding to rising interest in nuclear energy and how emerging reactor designs could reshape the landscape. We talked about reforms at the NRC and how to ensure they are done without sacrificing safety. And we looked at this resurgence in US nuclear energy in relation to international trade and existing nuclear nonproliferation policies. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Amy Roma, Ashley Finan, welcome to Columbia Energy Exchange. Great to have this conversation with both of you.

**Amy Roma** (3:24)
Great to be here.

**Ashley Finan** (3:24)
Great to be here.

**Jason Bordoff** (3:25)
We're going to talk, not surprisingly, about nuclear energy, which is very top of the energy conversation, with rising power demand, questions about where our electrons are going to come from, not just tomorrow, but also in the medium and longer term, and a strong focus from the current administration on how to accelerate the time frame and bring more nuclear power online. Actually, one of the few areas, it seems to me, but we'll get into this, where there can be some bipartisan consensus that it would be better for the country to have more nuclear power and be able to build that safely but also quicker. So maybe we'll just start there.
Ashley, I'll start with you. If you could lay the landscape of where we are today with nuclear energy in the United States, with the shift in the conversation, if you think there has been one, and with the evolving landscape of US nuclear regulation.

**Ashley Finan** (4:19)
Sure. Thank you, Jason. I think there has been evolution in the conversation about nuclear energy. I think that we're really seeing policy makers treating nuclear energy as being central to our energy security, industrial competitiveness, and the AI driven electricity demand, in addition to climate goals, which has been part of the conversation for many years now. As that pertains to nuclear regulation, I think that policy makers see that efficient regulation is key to meeting many of those bigger goals that we have as a country.
Now, the reforms recently have picked up pace quite a bit under the Trump administration, but I would also comment that the efforts to modernize the NRC and make the regulations more risk informed and suitable for advanced technologies and innovation has been underway for more than a decade at this point. So it's been an ongoing effort, but things have really picked up pace recently.