Nuclear Power

Mohamad Al-Sheikhly1 and John Gutteridge2

University of Maryland1 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)2

Covering Energy Issues

A workshop for the MediaUniversity of Delaware

April 26, 2010

Nuclear Power

• Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in Nuclear Power, which has generated a lot of coverage in the media. The topics vary widely but the overarching trend is positive. Common themes are:– Need for Nuclear expertise– Need for Nuclear Power– Former opponents now supporting it– New technology in the field of Nuclear Power

Comparison of Life-Cycle EmissionsTons of Carbon Dioxide

1,041

622

46 39 18 17 15 14

Coal Natural Gas Biomass Solar PV Hydro Nuclear Geothermal Wind

Need for Nuclear Expertise• Alarm over shortage of nuclear experts – Boston

Globe – 3 April 2010– The National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) average

age of it’s workforce is 47, with 1/4th reaching retirement age by the end of 2012.

– National Energy Institute (NEI) estimates 35 percent of workforce at nuclear plants will reach retirement age by 2012

– MIT study concluded that even with no new reactors, hundreds of additional nuclear scientists and engineers need to be graduated each year just to pair current loses.

• Quick view

– 104 nuclear plants

– 20% of the nation’s electricity

U.S. Nuclear Energy Facts

– Displaces 680 million metric tons of CO2/yr

– Equivalent to 131 millionpassenger cars/yr

Need for Nuclear Power

• 40 New Nuclear Power Plants Will Need To Be Built by 2035 to Help Meet Anticipated U.S. Electrical Energy Demand While Reducing CO2 Emissions – Fox News – 16 Feb 2010 – 40 new plants will provide for an annual 1% increase

in US electricity consumption– Nuclear power currently represents only 10% of

installed capacity but provides over 20% of electricity, making it highly reliable

– Each plant generates 4000 construction jobs and 400 permanent jobs

Need for Nuclear Power

• Should the U.S. Expand Nuclear Power? – CBS News – 12 Jan 2010– US requires 25-30 plants by 2030 just to maintain

Nuclear as 20% provider of electricity– Only power generator capable of generating

electricity emissions free on a reliable and large scale

– Nuclear power plants, averaged over a year, generate 91% of their capability, the highest uptime of any power source

Former opponents now supporting it

• Jump starting Nuclear energy – Los Angles Times – 5 March 2010– Written by a founding member of Greenpeace who now

supports Nuclear power– Nuclear reactors currently produce 70% of emissions free

energy in the US– It would require $12 Billion and 200,000 acres of wind

farms to match the power of one nuclear plant, assuming the wind turbines spun all the time.

– Despite safety concerns, no member of the public or plant worker has died from a radiation incident from a power plant in the US.

The Power of Words

The Washington Post, April 16, 2006Going NuclearA Green Makes the CaseBy Patrick Moore

– “Look at it this way: More than 600 coal-fired electric plants in the United States produce 36 percent of U.S. emissions -- or nearly 10 percent of global emissions -- of CO2, the primary greenhouse gas responsible for climate change.”

– “Nuclear energy is the only large-scale, cost-effective energy source that can reduce these emissions while continuing to satisfy a growing demand for power. And these days it can do so safely.”

New technology in the field• Bill Gates and Toshiba discuss nuclear power

venture – BBC News – 23 March 2010– Traveling Wave reactor proposed by Bill Gate’s

TerraPower– Has the potential to last up to 100 years without

refueling– A mini-reactor that would be more cost-efficient– Suitable for cities or emerging country markets

New technology in the field

• Initial success from SILEX test loop – World Nuclear News – 12 April 2010– Uses laser enrichment to separate U235 and

U238– The process has a much higher separation ratio

than other methods– Initial tests have proven successful, prompting

expanded tests and support for full scale production

– A commercial license could be issues as early as January 2012

The Power of WordsThe Washington Post, April 16, 2006Going NuclearA Green Makes the CaseBy Patrick Moore

– “Look at it this way: More than 600 coal-fired electric plants in the United States produce 36 percent of U.S. emissions -- or nearly 10 percent of global emissions -- of CO2, the primary greenhouse gas responsible for climate change.”

– “Nuclear energy is the only large-scale, cost-effective energy source that can reduce these emissions while continuing to satisfy a growing demand for power. And these days it can do so safely.”

Elegant Contrast: Nuclear Safety

Newsweek, April 9, 2010 George Will

– “29 people killed [April 5, 2010] in the West Virginia coal-mine explosion will soon be as forgotten by the nation as are the 362 miners who were killed in a 1907 explosion in that state, the worst mining disaster in American history.”

– “… the number of Americans killed by accidents in 55 years of generating electricity by nuclear power is: 0.”

– “That is the same number of Navy submariners and surface sailors injured during six decades of living in very close proximity to reactors.”

The Green Turns Green

The Washington Post, April 16, 2006Going NuclearA Green Makes the CaseBy Patrick Moore

– “In the early 1970s when I helped found Greenpeace, I believed that nuclear energy was synonymous with nuclear holocaust, …”

– “Thirty years on, my views have changed, and the rest of the environmental movement needs to update its views, too, because nuclear energy may just be the energy source that can save our planet from another possible disaster: catastrophic climate change.”

'82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

Ca

pa

cit

y F

ac

tor

(%)

Proven Performance

Source: Energy Information Administration/Nuclear Regulatory Commission

92%

U.S. Energy DemandAmerica Is Projected to Need 50% More

Electricity by 2025

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

1980 19901970 2003 2015 2025

5,787BkWh

3,839BkWh

Recycling Used Nuclear Fuel

Converting Used Fuel Into New FuelThrough recycling, the separated uranium would become new fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. The long-lived radioactive elements, including plutonium, become fuel that could be used in advanced reactors that would be developed commercially as part of the research and development program.

Advanced recycling technologies would reduce the volume, heat and toxicity of used nuclear fuel, but not completely eliminate the byproducts. The recycling byproducts would require disposal in a permanent repository

Existing or Expected ESP/COL Applications in the U.S.

Reactor Type Number

AP1000 (Westinghouse) 12

EPR (AREVA) 4

ABWR 2

ESBWR (GE) 6

USAPWR 2

Total 26 (17 Apps.)

Evidence of U.S. Nuclear Revival— License Renewals

24Renewal

Intent

48Granted

17Not

Announced15In NRCReview

RenewalApplication

RenewalApplication

RenewalApplication

RenewalApplication

Source: Nuclear News, March 2008

History of Nuclear Education in the United States

Where We Were

• 1960’s – 1980’s - ~64 University Research Reactors- ~50+ Nuclear Engineering Programs- 1800+ Students - Ordering and Building NPP’s

Problems Arise

• Three Mile Island (1979) and Chernobyl (1986)• Cost of financing

Results In:• Loss of public support for nuclear energy• Cancelation of orders • Decline in NE enrollments• Closing/merging of NE programs• Shuttering of research reactors

Addressing the Problem

• 1992 – Utility approaches DOE – Matching grant program begins

• Mid to late 1990’s – DOE “reinstitutes” several programs

• 2000 – “Nuclear Education and Training: Cause for Concern”

• Post 2000 – retooling NE education

NE Enrollment Trends(2004-2009)

1520 1831 1933 2102 2323

10921110 1153

12391482

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009

Undergraduate Graduate

26122941

30863341

3805

Nuclear Engineering Enrollments and Graduations - 2008-09

9

10

9

24

12

32

4

28

51

63

25

26

17

52

44

62

22

30

114

82

67

15

55

53

102

69

107

81

113

86

10

12

45

54

70

39

60

57

133

128

46

82

101

158

125

152

116

158

125

166

136

253

4

10

3

3

2

18

4

20

8

4

4

5

20

4

19

34

35

18

11

13

22

26

23

20

29

23

1

3

6

5

19

3

13

17

55

15

14

18

31

32

31

17

30

25

22

30

45

21

18

2

12

36

46

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

Colo S/M

Utah

Nevada – Las Vegas

AF Institute

Cincinnati

Idaho

Maryland

Massachusetts – Lowell

Texas – Austin

South Carolina State

South Carolina

Missouri – Columbia

Ohio State

Kansas State

Idaho State

New Mexico

VA Tech

CAL – Berkeley

RPI

Florida

MIT

Wisconsin – Madison

Illinois

Missouri S&T

Purdue

North Carolina State

Michigan

Georgia Tech

Oregon State

Tennessee

Penn State

Texas A&M

Graduate Undergraduate Graduations - G Graduations - U

Summary

• As can be seen, the nuclear industry and world is expanding for many reasons to include growing energy demand, clean energy demand, and high reliability

• Currently the workforce is undersized to handle this need and is unable to replace future loses due to retirement

• As the demand grows, so will the demand for experts in the field and new technology to support new plants

• All of the above factors translate into an important position for educational programs that develop nuclear experts and support the need to support and expand these programs