NRC Cost and Comparison

Licensing a new nuclear reactor design in the US costs the applicant $200-500 million in NRC review fees and takes 5-10 years. In Canada, a comparable review costs roughly $30-50 million and takes 3-5 years. In South Korea, the timeline is similar to Canada's. Canada's review takes half the time and costs roughly a tenth as much.

The cost difference comes from three sources. First, the NRC charges applicants hourly fees ($300/hour per reviewer as of 2024, with dozens of reviewers working simultaneously). Long reviews generate large bills. Second, the US process requires resolution of all design issues before construction begins, front-loading costs. Canada and South Korea allow phased licensing that spreads costs. Third, NRC reviews frequently generate Requests for Additional Information (RAIs) that restart review timelines, with some designs receiving hundreds of RAIs.

NuScale's experience. NuScale submitted its small modular reactor design certification application in 2017. NRC completed review in 2023 (six years). NuScale reportedly spent over $500 million on the licensing process. The first customer (UAMPS) ultimately cancelled its project in 2023, citing cost escalation partly driven by licensing delays.

Does expensive licensing produce safer reactors?

Not demonstrably. France, South Korea, and Canada all have strong nuclear safety records with less expensive licensing processes. The US has not had a radiation-related fatality from commercial nuclear power. But neither have countries with faster, cheaper regulatory processes. The question is whether the marginal safety gained from the most expensive review process justifies the projects it prices out of existence.

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