Overview
- The Marine Minerals Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission signed a memorandum of understanding on July 22 that establishes split authority for potential offshore reactors, with the MMA handling leases and rights-of-way and the NRC responsible for environmental analyses and licenses.
- Officials say the agreement is preparatory only and that no commercial deployments on the Outer Continental Shelf are planned or approved at this time, while the Port of Long Beach and the Department of Transportation separately agreed to test small modular reactors for maritime uses.
- Conservation groups warned of risks to marine life and called the proposal dangerous, and agencies have not yet resolved key questions about environmental impacts, siting, safety, and national-security concerns such as radar interference.
- The move fits the administration’s broader push to expand nuclear capacity—including a stated goal to quadruple U.S. nuclear output by 2050—and to open federal waters to industrial activity beyond offshore wind.
- Internationally, Russia runs the only operational floating nuclear plant and the IAEA reports several countries are developing marine SMR designs, while the Outer Continental Shelf’s 3.2 billion acres remain under federal jurisdiction managed by the MMA.