WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump ordered the US nuclear regulatory commission on Friday to cut down on regulations and fast-track new licences for reactors and power plants, seeking to shrink a multi-year process down to 18 months.

The requirement was part of a batch of executive orders signed by Trump on Friday that aim to boost nuclear energy production amid a boom in demand from data centers and artificial intelligence.

Licensing for reactors in the US can take over a decade at times, a process designed to prioritise nuclear safety but which has discouraged new projects.

`This is going to turn the clockback on over 50 years of overregulation of an industry,` Interior SecretaryDougBurgum,whoheads the White House Energy Dominance Council, said in the Oval Office.

The moves include a substantial overhaul of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which includes looking at staffing levels and directing the energy and defence departments to work together to build nuclear plants on federal lands, a senior White House official said.

The administration envisions the Department of Defence taking a prominent role in ordering reactors and installing them on military bases.

The orders also seek to reinvigor-ate uranium production and enrichment in the United States, the senior White House official said.

Constellation Energy Group CEO Joseph Dominguez said the president`s actions would help normalise the regulatory process.

`We`re wasting too much time on permitting, and we`re answering silly questions, not the important ones,` Dominguez said during the signing event.

Trump declared a national energy emergency in January as one of his first acts in office, saying the US had inadequate supplies of electricity to meet the country`s growing needs, particularly for data centers that run artificial intelligence systems.-Reuters