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Overview of US Nuclear Energy Initiatives

7671-9/06-1

Harold McFarlane

PresidentAmerican Nuclear Society

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unauthorizedinformal

informative

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Nuclear

New PlantConstruction R&D

Loan guarantees Risk assurance Production tax credit Price-Anderson Decommissioning funds

Next generation nuclear plant Nuclear hydrogen production Advanced fuel cycle initiative Nuclear engineering program Medical isotopes

Energy Policy Act of 2005

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US Major Nuclear Initiatives

Nuclear Regulatory Commission New licensing process

Department of Energy Nuclear Power 2010 Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Nuclear Hydrogen Generation-IV Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) Yucca Mountain Project

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Nuclear Power 2010

Current US Nuclear Electric Generation: 104 Reactors; 100 GWe; 20% of total

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1 Reactor Pressure Vessel 18 HPCF Pump2 Reactor Internal Pumps 19 RCIC Steam Turbine and Pump3 Fine Motion Control Rod Drives 20 Diesel Generator4 Main Steam Isolation Valves 21 Standby Gas Treatment Filter and Fans5 Safety / Relief Valves 22 Spent Fuel Storage Pool6 SRV Quenchers 23 Refueling Platform7 Lower Drywell Equipment Platform 24 Shield Blocks8 Horizontal Vents 25 Steam Dryer and Separator9 Suppression Pool Storage Pool10 Lower Drywell Flooder 26 Bridge Crane11 Reinforced Concrete Containment 27 Main Steam Lines

Vessel 28 Feedwater Lines12 Lower Drywell Equipment Hatch 29 Main Control Room13 Wetwell Personnel Lock 30 Turbine-Generator14 Hydraulic Control Units 31 Moisture Separator Reheater15 Control Rod Drive Hydraulic 32 Combustion Turbine-Generator

System Pumps 33 Air Compressor and Dryers16 RHR Heat Exchanger 34 Switchyard17 RHR Pump

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Nuclear Power 2010 Initiative

Federal/private cost sharing

Early site permitting

Combined construction/operating license (COL)

COL application expected 2007-2008

Construction expected to begin in 2010 following NRC issuance of COL

2006 budget appropriation: $65.3 million

2007 budget request: $54.0 million

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Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP)

Very high temperature reactor

Electricity and/or industrial heat applications

New $8 million contract with industry

National laboratories working on technology gaps

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Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative

Part of a larger hydrogen program

Investigating 2 high temperature approaches Thermo-chemical water cracking Steam electrolysis

Budget 2006 appropriation: $24.8M 2007 request: $18.7M

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Generation-IV

Generation-IV International Forum (GIF) coordinates international research cooperation on advanced nuclear reactors Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Euratom, France, Japan,

South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

China and Russia to join this year

US emphasis has been on the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) and fast reactors

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Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative

Advanced aqueous separations

Advanced pyroprocess methods

Advanced fuels for transmutation

Focus on improving repository performance

Implement advanced safeguards in process and facility design

Budget: 2006 Appropriation: $79.2 million 2007 Request: $243.0 million

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High Level Waste Repository Program

Spent Fuel Inventory - No Growth Scenario

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Once-Thru

Once-Thru & Reproc.

Single MOX

Transmuter Recycle

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Yucca Mountain Repository

License submittal 2008

Opening ~ 2017

DOE paying some utilities for fuel storage

“Adaptive Staging” recommended by National Research Council in 2003

Pending legislation

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Senator Domenici’s Yucca Mountain Bill

Authorizes DOE to withdraw 147,000 acres of federally owned property

Replaces arbitrary 70,000 ton capacity with scientifically based capacity

Authorizes infrastructure construction after EIS

Gives DOE authority to accept and store SNF Starts with defense waste and fuel After construction permit, legacy civilian fuel

Withdraws land for rail line

Changes “standard contract” to 25 years after start of operation of new nuclear plants

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Domenici’s bill, continued

Takes Waste Fund off budget

Requires NRC to accept legislation as satisfying waste confidence for new plant construction

Basically the bill would integrate DOE’s programs High level waste program Advanced nuclear energy program Incorporate some recommendations from the National

Research Council’s staging report

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Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP)

The US blueprint for nuclear sustainability

Source: www.gnep.energy.gov

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Safeguards

Incorporate into design of new facilities

Remote, automated intelligent systems

Materials tracking and process control

Remote sensing, environmental sampling and forensic verification

International tests and demonstrations

Continued support for global best practices in security and materials accounting

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Limit sensitive technologies Enrichment Reprocessing

Must integrate into existing commercial uranium market

17.4 tons HEU pledged by US

$50 million pledged by NTI/Warren Buffet

Excellent forum during IAEA General Conference http://www.iaea.org/About/Policy/GC/GC50/SideEvent/

report220906.pdf

Reliable fuel services

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Appropriately sized reactors

50-350 MWe sized for grid

Long fuel life; infrequent reloading

Passive safety systems

Electricity, district heating, potable water

IAEA safeguards

Physical protection from terrorism

R&D needed

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Proliferation resistant recycle

UREX+ and Pyroprocessing

Remote fuel fabrication

Integrated safeguards

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Limited by 200 C Drift Wall Temp. at Emplacement

Limited by 96 CMid-Drift Temp. ~1600 yrs

Limited by 200 C Drift Wall Temp. at Closure

AssumptionsBurnup: 50 GWd/MT Separation: 25 yearsEmplacement: 25 yearsClosure: 100 years

Minimized nuclear waste

Employ advanced recycle

Custom waste forms

Manage heat load

Manage radiotoxicity

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Advanced Burner Reactor

Sodium cooled

Fast neutron spectrum

Transmutation

Naturally safe

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GNEP Technology Demonstrations

Advanced Burner Reactor

Advanced Fuel Cycle Facility

Advanced modeling and simulation

and industrial application

Consolidated fuel treatment center

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DO

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vest

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t ($

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UndergraduateStudent

Enrollment

Trends in nuclear engineering enrollment

HBCU/HSIStudent

Enrollment70

1,831

DOEInvestment

US DOE August 2006

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US Nuclear InitiativesAimed at nuclear expansion

7671-9/06-25

American Nuclear Society