New Reactors

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New Reactors

• Bill Borchardt
• Director, Office of New Reactors

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Nuclear Energy Worldwide

• There are currently 435 commercial nuclear power
  reactors operating in 30 countries
• Nuclear power provides over 16 of the world's
  electricity and 34 in the European Union.
• 30 more power reactors are under construction,
  while over 60 are firmly planned

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Conditions of the mid-1980s did not favor nuclear
construction

• Energy efficiency improvements
• Economic restructuring
• Significant drop in electricity demand
• Excess generating capacity
• Oil (traded fossil energy) price collapse
• Electricity market liberalization privatization
• Regulatory interventions after TMI
• High Interest rates
• Chernobyl

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Conditions of today are distinctly different from
the mid-1980s

• Strong energy demand growth
• Fossil fuels no longer cheap
• Energy supply security concerns
• Attractive life cycle costs of nuclear power
• Pollution control and climate change
• Excellent operating experience
• Renewables and efficiency improvements Low
  hanging fruit already harvested

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Energy Policy Act of 2005

• Authorizes federal risk insurance for the next 6
  nuclear plants for delays associated with NRC
  reviews (500 M for first 2 plants, 250 M for
  next 4 plants)
• Nuclear energy production tax credits for the
  first 6,000 megawatts of electricity from new
  advanced reactors
• Authorizes 3 billion in nuclear research and
  development to support NGNP and NP2010

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National Programs

• NP2010(Nuclear Power 2010) A joint
  government/industry cost-shared effort to
  demonstrate key regulatory processes associated
  with siting and building new nuclear power plants
  
• NGNP (Next Generation Nuclear Plant) A
  demonstration reactor at Idaho National
  Laboratory that will serve as a test for advanced
  reactor technologies and for cogeneration of
  hydrogen by nuclear energy.
• GNEP (Global Nuclear Energy Partnership) A
  program to develop new proliferation-resistant
  recycling technologies in order to produce more
  energy, reduce waste, and minimize proliferation
  concerns.

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NRC Mission

• NRC Mission Statement
• To regulate the nation's civilian use of
  byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials
  to ensure adequate protection of public health
  and safety, to promote the common defense and
  security, and to protect the environment.

• Office of New Reactors
• The Office of New Reactors serves the public
  interest by enabling the safe, secure, and
  environmentally responsible use of nuclear power
  in meeting the nation's future energy needs

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Resurgence of Nuclear Power

• 29 new plants at 20 sites proposed by the
  industry
• Five different plant designs proposed
• AP1000
• Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor
• Evolutionary Power Reactor
• Advanced Boiling Water Reactor
• Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor

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New Reactor Licensing Applications
An estimated schedule by Fiscal Year
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2014
AP1000 Program Review
Schedules depicted for future activities
represent nominal assumed review durations based
on submittal time frames in letters of intent
from prospective applicants. Actual schedules
will be determined when applications are docketed.
Design Cert
ESBWR Program Review
Design Certification
Grand Gulf ESP
Hearing
Design Certification
EPR Program Review
ABWR Program Review
USAPWR Program Review
Unspecified
8/13/07
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Potential New Reactor Applicants
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Part 52 Licensing Process

• Provide a more predictable licensing process
• Resolve safety and environmental issues before
  authorizing construction
• Provide for timely meaningful public
  participation
• Encourage standardization of nuclear plant
  designs
• Reduce financial risk to nuclear plant licensees

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Part 52 Licensing Process
Early Site Permit Or Equivalent Siting
Information
Pre-Construction
Post-Construction
Combined License Review, Hearing, and Decision
Verification Of Regulations with ITAAC
Reactor Operation Decision
Optional Pre-Application Review
Standard Design Certification Or Equivalent
Design information
A combined license application can reference an
early site permit, a standard design
certification, both, or neither. If an early
site permit and/or a standard design
certification is not referenced, the applicant
must provide an equivalent level of information
in the combined license application.
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Early Site Permits (ESPs)10 CFR Part 52, Subpart
A

• An ESP is a license (partial construction
  permit)
• Review scope
• Site safety
• Environmental
• Emergency preparedness
• Mandatory hearing
• Permit good for 10-20 years
• Allows applicant to bank a site
• Two ESPs issued (Clinton and Grand Gulf), 2 under
  review (North Anna and Vogtle)

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Standard Design Certifications

• Allows an applicant to obtain pre-approval of a
  standard nuclear plant design through rulemaking
• Reduces licensing uncertainty by resolving design
  issues early in the licensing process
• Facilitates standardization
• Higher degree of regulatory finality
• Certification good for 15 years
• 4 designs approved (C-E System 80 GE Advanced
  Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) Westinghouse AP600
  Westinghouse AP1000),
• 1 design under review (General Electric ESBWR),
• 2 designs in pre-application activities (Areva
  EPR and the Mitsubishi US APWR).

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Combined Licenses10 CFR Part 52, Subpart C

• Combined License (COL) a combined construction
  permit and operating license with conditions
• A COL is the fundamental licensing process in
  Part 52 for reducing the financial risks for
  electric companies building nuclear power plants
• COL can reference ESP, DCR, both, or neither
• Must meet technical standards in Parts 50, 100,
  etc.
• 40 year duration

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New Construction

• Nuclear plants will be built more rapidly than
  their predecessors
• Detailed engineering will be essentially complete
  by start of construction
• Modular construction techniques will be used
• Fabrication of components may begin before COL
  issuance
• Components and modules will be fabricated in
  other countries

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Security for New Reactors

• Commission Policy Statement modified to encourage
  applicants to consider security early in the
  design
• Staff to perform aircraft impact assessments on
  new designs
• Part 52 to be revised to require applicants to
  perform aircraft impact assessments
• Sharing insights with other countries

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Digital Instrumentation Controls

• Key Technical Issues
• Cyber security
• diversity and defense-in-depth
• highly integrated control rooms - human factors
• highly integrated control rooms - communications
• risk-informed digital IC

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Multinational Design Evaluation Program

• Stage 1 Trilateral agreement to share
  information and reviews on EPR design
• Finland, France, and U.S.
• Stage 2 10 countries participating
• Exploring opportunities for convergence of safety
  goals and regulatory practices
• Stage 3 implementation stage

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Challenges for New Construction

• Ability of the grid to support new construction
• Large component manufacturing
• Workforce / staffing

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ABWR

• Design Certification
• - May 1997
• 1350 MWe
• evolutionary design
• Vessel mounted internal recirc pumps
• Fine motion control rod drives
• Digital IC
• 3 full train ECCS

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System 80

• Design Certification
• - May 1997
• 1350 MWe
• evolutionary design
• Complete plant design based on System 80 NSSS and
  Cherokee/Perkins BOP
• Advanced Control Room
• Severe accident prevention and mitigation

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AP600

• Design Certification
• December 1999
• 600 MWe advanced reactor design
• Digital IC
• Passive Safety Systems
• Passive safety injection
• Passive residual heat removal
• External reactor vessel cooling

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AP1000

• 1117 MWe
• Passive containment cooling system with steel
  containment vessel and natural circulation air
  flow
• Gravity drain core makeup tanks and refueling
  water storage tanks
• Natural circulation heat exchangers connected to
  RCS
• Design Certification Rule - December 2005

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ESBWR

• Economic and Simplified BWR
• 1390 MWe GE reactor based on Simplified BWR and
  Advanced BWR
• Natural circulation
• Passive safety systems
• Design Certification Application submitted and
  staff review underway

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EPR

• 1600 MWe evolutionary design
• Four 100 capacity engineered safety feature
  trains
• Double-walled containment
• Corium spreading area for severe accident
  mitigation
• Pre-application review beginning
• Design certification application planned for
  late CY 2007