A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to submit to Congress a report assessing the capability of the Department of Energy to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded fusion and fission reactor prototypes and related demonstration facilities at sites owned by the Department of Energy.

Bill: 114-s-1363
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
Introduced: 2015-05-18
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Congressional oversight

Energy research

Nuclear power

Public contracts and procurement

Public-private cooperation

Research administration and funding

Research and development

Technology transfer and commercialization
Latest action: action_date: 2015-06-09
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.

Summaries:
action_date: 2015-05-18
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p>Requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to report on its capabilities to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded fusion and fission reactor prototypes up to 20 megawatts thermal output and related demonstration facilities at DOE-owned sites.</p> <p>Prescribes report contents, including: (1) potential sites capable of hosting research, development, and demonstration of prototype reactors and related facilities; (2) long-term project costs; and (3) issues relating to potential cases of demonstration reactors up to 2 gigawatts of thermal output.</p>

tv_txt: II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1363 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 18, 2015 Mr. Crapo introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To require the Secretary of Energy to submit to Congress a report assessing the capability of the Department of Energy to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded fusion and fission reactor prototypes and related demonstration facilities at sites owned by the Department of Energy.

1. Report required (a) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the National Laboratories, relevant Federal agencies, and other stakeholders, shall submit to the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a report assessing the capability of the Department of Energy (referred to in this section as the Department ) to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded fusion and fission reactor prototypes up to 20 megawatts thermal output and related demonstration facilities at sites owned by the Department. (b) Content The report submitted under subsection (a) shall describe the results of an assessment of— (1) the safety review and oversight capabilities of the Department; (2) potential sites capable of hosting research, development, and demonstration of prototype reactors and related facilities for the purpose of reducing technical risk; (3) the existing physical and technical capabilities of the Department and the National Laboratories relevant to research, development, and oversight; (4) the efficacy of the available contractual mechanisms of the Department, including— (A) cooperative research and development agreements; (B) work for others agreements; and (C) agreements for commercializing technology; (5) potential cost structures relating to physical security, decommissioning, liability, and other long-term project costs; and (6) other challenges or considerations identified by the Secretary of Energy, including issues relating to potential cases of demonstration reactors up to 2 gigawatts of thermal output.