# Presentation: 476916

## NUCLEAR POWER:

**SECURE ENERGY**
**for the **
**21****st**** CENTURY**
- Mike Corradini
- Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics

***Nuclear Power:Villain or Victim; M.Carbon, Pebble Beach Publishers (2002)***
***Decision-Makers’ Forum:  A Unified Strategy for Nuclear Energy (2004)***

## Need for a Unified Energy Strategy

**Internationally:**
**Population continues to increase worldwide**
**Energy usage growing at similar rates (1-2%/yr*)**
**Electrical energy usage increasing faster  (>3%/yr*)**
**Nationally:**
**Abundant & secure energy is critical to our future**
**Continued & growing concern of fossil fuel emission**
**Alternative energy technologies must be considered**
***      ******Need to ensure energy security with bipartisan  ***
***      ******initiatives and executive priority for nuclear energy***
**                            ****	****	****	****	****	****	*****EIA (2002)**

## SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES

**Conditions for Sustainability: **
**Acceptable area usage **
**Minimal by-product streams**
**Economically feasible technology**
**Large supply of the energy resource**
**Neither the power source itself nor the technology to exploit it can be controlled by a few nations/regions (people/countries/regions)**

## Power Plant Land Use Required (km2 / MW)

**Power Plant Land Use Required ****(km****2**** / MW)**
**Source: J. Davidson (2000)**

- Nuclear
- 0.001/0.01

**Biomass**
**5.2**

- Geothermal
- 0.003

- Coal
- 0.01/0.04

**1000 MW POWER PLANTS RUNNING AT 100 % CAPACITY **
**(8766 GWh/year)**

## 1000 MWe-yr Power Plant Emission*

**                             **_**Coal**_**                  **_**Gas**_**         **_**Nuclear**_
**Sulfur-oxide     ~ 1000 mt               **
**Nitrous-oxide   ~ 5000 mt         400 mt**
**Particulates      ~ 1400 mt**
**Trace elements ~ 50 mt**       <1 mt**
**Ash                    ~ 1million mt**
**CO****2                     > ****7million mt   3.5mill. mt**
**** ****TRACE: e.g., Mercury, Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic**
**Spent Fuel****	****	****	****	****	****       20-30 mt**
**Fission Products****	****	****	****	****       ~1-2 mt**
**	****	****	****	****       *****Source: EIA (2002)**

## CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS 

**CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS **

**Construction/Operation/Fuel Preparation**

**(kg CO**

**2**

** ****/ kWh)**

**Hydro**

**Geothermal**

**Coal**

**Natural Gas**

**Solar-PV**

**Nuclear**

**Wind **

- 0

- 0.2

- 0.4

- 0.6

- 0.8

- 1

- 1.2

- 1.4

**CO**

**2**

** ****Emissions (kg CO**

**2**

**/kWh)**

- 0.004

- 0.025

- 0.06

- 0.025

- 0.38

- 0.47

- 0.022

- 0.1

- 0.79

- 0.58

- 1.04

*** Source: J. Davidson (2000)**

## Cost of Electricity

**Cost of Electricity**
-  (Global Average) (¢/kWh)

*** Source: J. Davidson (2000)**

## Top 10 Nuclear Countries (1999)

***billion kilowatt-hours***

***U.S. nuclear electricity generation is:***
*** ******as large as France and Japan (#2 ******	******                                     ******	******and #3) combined; and***
*** ******larger than the other 7 nations in ******	******	******the top 10 combined***

***Source: IAEA***

## Record U.S.Nuclear Electricity Production

*Source: EIA*

**(Billions of Kilowatt-hours)**

**Notes:**
As Don Hintz mentioned, our nuclear power plants continue to perform exceptionally well, thanks to our sustained focus on fundamentals.
We have 103 reactors producing about 20 percent of U.S. electricity— the largest nuclear power program in the world, and the best performing.
We continue to see steady, sustained increases in output year over year.  We estimate that 2002 output will be 1-2 percent above 2001—or about 778 billion kilowatt-hours.

## Industry Capacity FactorContinues at Record Level

**Industry Capacity Factor****Continues at Record Level**

**86.8% in 1999**
**89.6% in 2000**
**90.7% in 2001**
**91.7% in 2002**

**Notes:**
The industry’s average capacity factor continues to improve.  We estimate that the industry average will be about 91.5 percent in 2002.
In just the last five years, the increase in output from our nuclear plants is equivalent to 13 new 1,000-megawatt power plants.

## License Renewal:Extends Value

**Approved**
**Calvert Cliffs 1,2**
**Oconee 1,2,3**
**Arkansas Nuclear ****  One Unit 1**
**Hatch 1,2**
**Turkey Point 3,4**

**Already filed**
**North Anna 1,2**
**Surry 1,2**
**Catawba 1,2**
**McGuire 1,2**
**Peach Bottom 2,3**
**St. Lucie 1,2**
**Fort Calhoun**
**Robinson 2**
**Summer**
**Ginna**

## Safety of Current Nuclear Plants

**There has not been a loss of life in the US due to commercial nuclear plants (TMI released a small amount of radiation)**
**Chernobyl accident - a terrible accident with a bad design**
**These plants are now closed or redesigned for operation**
**Russian nuclear plant operations are being assisted by IAEA**
**Regional deregulation of the electricity industry introduces challenges to continue & enhance the safety of nuclear plants.  **
**- Upgrades of power plant equipment and reliable replacement schedule**
**- Risk-informed decision making by the industry should be cost-effective**
***US nuclear plants are now self-insured via Price-Anderson Act***
***and we should renew Price-Anderson legislation for long-term***

## Nuclear Power High Level Waste (HLW)

**All nuclear fuel cycle waste (except HLW) has been safely and reliably disposed through DoE and NRC regulations; milling, enrichment, fabrication by-products as LLW **
**Since 1982, US law ‘defines’ spent nuclear fuel as a HLW, since reprocessing has not occurred since 1976 (Japan & Europe currently reprocess spent nuclear fuel for recycle)**
**Spent fuel is currently stored at ~105 nuclear power plant sites (~ 2000 mt/yr; total ~50,000 mt) & is planned to be stored/buried at one site in the US (Yucca Mtn)**
**All nuclear electricity is taxed at 1mill/kwhre for a HLW fund (~$0.8 billion/yr; total fund ~ $20 billion)**
***Reassert criteria, achieve licensing & begin operation of Yucca***

## Evolution of Nuclear Power Systems

- Enhanced Safety
- Improved Economics
- Minimized Wastes
- Proliferation Resistance

**Notes:**
GEN 2: Kewaunee, WPS in N. Wisconsin

GEN 3: ABWR already constructed in Japan

## Nuclear Energy: Defense-in-Depth

**Reliable Operation**
** ****Safety is foremost**
** ‘****Doing it right’**

**Credible Regulation**
** ****Risk-based stds.**
** ****Public access**

**Improving Engr.**
**System Designs**
**Instrumentation**
** ****Materials**

***- New plants (GenIII) require predictable plant licensing processes***
***- Enhance and reestablish a vibrant human infrastructure***

## Nuclear Safety Enhanced

**Current nuclear power plants have high levels of safety: i.e., reliable operation, low occupational radioactivity dose to workers and with minimal risk and health effects from severe accidents.**
**Future nuclear reactor systems will meet and exceed safety performance of current reactors.**
**Decay heat removal, minimize transients and allow time for operator actions are the keys to successful safety performance.**
**Advanced LWR’s will be simplified, thus more economic and continue to minimize emissions**
***Deploy advanced light-water reactor systems (GenIII)***

## Advanced LWR: AP-1000

## Advanced LWR: ESBWR

## Generation IV Reactor Systems

**Safety: must meet and exceed current nuclear power plant reliability, occupational radiation exposure and risk of accident consequences**
**Sustainability: minimize waste streams during spent fuel disposal or reprocessing and recycle**
**Proliferation and Physical Protection of facilities**
**Economics: continue to reduce the total cost of electricity ($/Mwhr-e) to remain competitive with leading technologies (e.g., gas, coal and wind)**
***Develop and demo advanced reactors & fuel cycles (GenerationIV)***

## Very-High-Temperature Reactor  (VHTR)

**Very-High-Temperature Reactor  (VHTR)**

***Characteristics***
***High temperature coolant***
***900 - 1000°C outlet temp.***
***600 MWth***
***Water-cracking cycle***
***Key Benefit***
***High thermal efficiency***
***Hydrogen production by water-cracking by High-Temp Electrolysis or Thermo-chemical decomposition***

## Process Heat for Hydrogen Production

**Hydrogen**

**CxHy**

- Carbon
- Recycle

**200 C**

**1000 C**

**Thermochemical Processes**

**LM Condensed Phase Reforming (pyrolysis)**

**Aqueous-phase Carbohydrate Reforming (ACR)**

**H2, CO2**

- CATALYST

**AQUEOUS CARBOHYDRATE**

## Hi-Temp. Electrolysis Process

## GAS-COOLED REACTOR

## Nuclear Power Fuel Cycle[1000 MWe-yr – (A) Once Thru (B) U-Pu recycle] IAEA-1997

**Mining/Milling**

**Convert/Enrichment**

**Fuel Fabrication**

**Reactor (1000MWe)**

**Reprocessing Plant**

**Milling waste stream**

**Conv/Enrich Waste Tails**

**Fuel Fabrication Waste**

**Spent Fuel as Waste**

**Reprocessing Waste (FP)**

**U****3****O****8**** &daughters**
**(A)10 mt (B) 6mt**

**UF****6**** &daughters**
**(A) 167mt(B) 0.5mt**

**(A) 205mt  (B)120mt**

**(A) 37mt  (B)11.5mt**

**(A) 36.8mt  (B) 36.4mt (U-Pu)**

**(A) 35.7 mt U, 0.32mt Pu**

**(B) 36mt U, 0.5mt Pu**

**(B) 1.1 mt U, 5kg Pu**

**UO****2 & ****daughters**
**(A) 0.2mt (B) 0.16mt**

## Liquid-Metal Cooled Fast Reactor (LFR)

***Characteristics***
***Na, Pb or Pb/Bi coolant***
***550°C to 800°C outlet temperature***
***120–400 MWe***
***Key Benefit***
***Waste minimization and efficient use of uranium resources***

## To Advance the Use of Nuclear Energy:

** ****Ensure energy security with bipartisan initiatives and an**
**    ****executive branch priority on nuclear energy**
** ****Enact long-term Price-Anderson legislation**
** ****Demonstrate predictable nuclear plant licensing processes**
** ****Reassert criteria, achieve licensing & begin operation of **
**   ****Yucca Mountain Repository**
** ****Deploy current light-water reactors in the U.S. (Gen-III)**
** ****Develop/demonstrate advanced reactors & fuel cycles (GenIV)**
** ****Reestablish a vibrant educational infrastructure**
***     ******=>Build public confidence and support for nuclear energy***