The one moribund nuclear power sector is suddenly a hive of activity, and nuclear regulators face pressure to rapidly assess an unprecedented number and variety of projects. How they respond will determine winners and losers among reactor designers, power companies and nations. More importantly, it will shape the future safety of nuclear energy and, if they get it wrong, squander the technology’s recently-revived public support.

I evaluated the quandary facing regulators for Nature magazine, drawing lessons from nuclear power’s history and perspective from past and present nuclear regulators around the world.

Front and center is the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has pivoted aggressively to an unapologetically nuclear-boosting posture under Trump 2.0. NRC chairman Ho Nieh is pushing for rapid transformation to make his agency a nuclear construction enabler. His stated goals: “Licences are issued. Shovels go in the ground. And we start building nuclear reactors safely and securely in the United States.”

Are “shovels in the ground” an appropriate measure of success for a nuclear regulator? Read on for answers…