Nuclear plant operators can now adopt design changes without asking regulators first

US nuclear regulators are proposing a new policy that lets nuclear plant operators make certain design changes without prior approval. This means operators can adopt updates from the original design certificate holder more quickly, as long as they follow the new rules.

For decades, every minor change to a nuclear plant design, even those from the original manufacturer, required a lengthy approval process. This slowed down upgrades and made it harder to incorporate new safety features or efficiencies. The proposed policy means operators can now implement these changes faster, potentially speeding up the deployment of advanced reactor technologies that rely on modular, updated designs.