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Senior Scientist
UFA Ventures, Inc.
In January, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Advanced Nuclear Technology Act of 2017 (ANTA). At the same time, the latest version of the Interim Consolidated Storage Act (ICSA) was introduced. These bills address two of the most important recommendations made in 2011 by then President Obama’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (the BRC). The nuclear power industry has also been waiting for legislation to break the logjam of bureaucratic red-tape that has hamstrung developing and building new-design reactors as well as to create a central place for used fuel that can be burned later. ANTA would… [more]
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Professor of Physics
City College of the City University of New York
The low cost and abundance of natural gas is rapidly causing utility companies to replace coal plants and aging nuclear power plants with gas-fired power plants. The widespread transition to natural gas highlights a need for the nuclear industry to focus on innovation as a means of regaining its competitiveness. Yet innovation requires long-term investment, and the nuclear sector faces structural difficulties in procuring the necessary funds to develop promising technologies. Republicans, who now control both houses of Congress, draw a strong distinction between basic research, which they generally accept as a federal responsibility, and applied research, which they believe… [more]
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President
Kadak Associates, Inc.
Today there are 100 nuclear plants operating in the United States, providing roughly 17% of our electricity. They do so with water technology developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s and many of these plants are extending their licenses from 40 to 60 years after careful regulatory review. Even new design nuclear plants such as Westinghouse’s AP-1000 and General Electric’s ESBWR are fundamentally the same technology, which are described as evolutionary. Yet today there are many new innovative designs and technologies that are being developed that are not water based. These innovators face enormous challenges in coming up with new designs… [more]
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A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals (D.C. Circuit) will require the U.S. to reevaluate the environmental impacts of disposal and storage of nuclear waste. The decision vacated the NRC’s Waste Confidence Decision Update and Temporary Storage Rule, which will essentially require the NRC to restart the process of evaluating the safety and potential consequences of producing, accumulating, and storing spent nuclear fuel. Explaining the decision, the Court writes that “the Commission’s evaluation of the risks of spent nuclear fuel is deficient in two ways: First, in concluding that permanent storage will be available ‘when necessary,’ the Commission… [more]
View InsightSteve Jaczko, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), announced his resignation this week amidst unflattering reports of his leadership and congressional hearings. Jaczko spent three years as Chairman and more than 7 years on the Commission. He will step down after a successor is confirmed, or after June of 2013, when his term would have ended. His tenure was marked by efforts to address longstanding safety concerns at nuclear reactors across the U.S., although these efforts were viewed with skepticism by those in the industry, according to the New York Times. Jaczko was criticized for ending the government’s consideration… [more]
View InsightA recent study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the U.S. government underestimates the cost of decommissioning nuclear power plants. “The Government Accountability Office scrutinized 12 of the nation’s 104 power reactors and found that for 5 of them, the decommissioning cost calculated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was 76 percent or less of what the reactor’s owner thought would be needed.” [New York Times] For example, the NRC estimated the cost of decommissioning the Indian Point 3 reactor in Buchanan, N.Y. at $474.2 million, significantly lower than the reactors owner’s estimate of $836.45 million. Representative Ed… [more]
View InsightThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved by a 4-to-1 vote Southern Company’s bid to build two nuclear reactors along the Georgia-South Carolina border. These are the first new reactors to be approved by the NRC in more than 30 years. The reactors will cost a Southern Co. led investment group around $14 billion, and will begin producing power as soon as 2016 or 2017. “Today’s licensing action sounds a clarion call to the world that the United States recognizes the importance of expanding nuclear energy as a key component of a low-carbon energy future that is central to job creation,… [more]
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