Licensing Is Nuclear’s Real Bottleneck

Design and technology (small modular reactors, advanced fuels) are rapidly improving, and AI can speed engineering, but the slow, capacity‑constrained regulatory and permitting system—along with financing rules and local consent—will be the decisive barrier to scaling nuclear power in the U.S. without targeted institutional reform. — If true, policy attention and funding should shift from R&D alone to expanding licensing capacity, fast‑track regulatory pathways, and durable local compensation/consent mechanisms to make any nuclear revival feasible and timely.