the advantages of nuclear power in a carbon … advantages of nuclear power in a carbon constrained...
TRANSCRIPT
SLIDE 1
The Advantages of Nuclear Power in a Carbon Constrained World
April 27, 2009
Roger Bloom
SLIDE 2
Agenda
1. History & Background
2. Fears & Myths
3. Protecting the Environment
4. Can we get there from here?
SLIDE 4
Nuclear Timeline
• 1942 December 2. The first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
• 1945 July 16. The first atomic bomb test.
• 1945 August 6. The atomic bombs are dropped on Japan ending WWII.
• 1953 December 8. Eisenhower delivers his "Atoms for Peace" speech before the UN.
• 1954 August 30, Eisenhower signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
• 1957 September 2. The Price-Anderson Act provides financial protection to the public.
• 1957 December 2. The world’s first large-scale nuclear power plant begins operation.
• 1959 October 15. Dresden-1 Nuclear Power Station in Illinois achieves a self-sustaining nuclear reaction.
SLIDE 5
Nuclear Timeline
• 1971 Twenty-two commercial nuclear power plants are in full operation in the U.S. They produce 2.4 percent of U.S. electricity at this time.
• 1973 U.S. utilities order 41 nuclear power plants, a one-year record.
• 1974 The first 1,000-megawatt-electric nuclear power plant goes into service –Commonwealth Edison's Zion 1 Plant.
• 1977 April 7. President Jimmy Carter announces the United States will defer indefinitely plans for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel.
• 1979 March 28. Three Mile Island nuclear power station accident.
• 1979 Seventy-two licensed reactors generate 12 percent of the electricity produced commercially in the United States.
• 1983 January 7. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) establishes a program to site a repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste.
• 1984 The atom overtakes hydropower to become the second largest source of electricity, after coal.
SLIDE 6
• 1986 April 26. Operator error causes two explosions at the Chernobyl No. 4 nuclear power plant in the former Soviet Union.
• 1989 One hundred and nine nuclear power plants provide 19 percent of the electricity used in the U.S.; 46 units have entered service during the decade.
• 1989 April 18. The NRC proposes a plan for reactor design certification, early site permits, and combined construction and operating licenses.
• 1991 One hundred and eleven nuclear power plants provide 22 percent of the electricity used in the U.S.
• 1992 October 24. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 is signed into law. The Act makes several important changes in the licensing process for nuclear power plants.
• 2002 House of Representatives approves Yucca Mountain as final disposal site for spent nuclear fuel.
• 2005 The Energy Policy Act is passed.
Nuclear Timeline
SLIDE 7
Highlights of Nuclear Energy Provisions in the Act
Nuclear Timeline
Price-Anderson Act Renewal
Loan Guarantees for New
Nuclear Plants
Production Tax Credits For New Plants
Standby Support for New Reactor Delays
Nuclear R&D,
Hydrogen Projects
Decommissioning Tax
SLIDE 12
How Nuclear Fuel
Is Made
Uranium must undergo four processing
steps to convert it from an ore to solid ceramic fuel pellets:
1) mining and milling
2) conversion
3) enrichment
4) fabrication
SLIDE 13
How Nuclear Fuel
Is Made
One uranium fuel pellet provides as much
energy as one ton of coal, 149 gallons of oil or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas
SLIDE 15
“New nuclear power plants are unlikely to provide a significant fraction of future U.S.
needs for low-carbon energy” National Resources Defense Council – “The Earth’s
Best Defense” 02/2007
No new nuclear or coal plants may ever be needed in the United States. "We may
not need any, ever," Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission. 4/22/09
"We do not support construction of new nuclear reactors as a means of addressing
the climate crisis.” Nuclear Information and Resource Service
“Nuclear power undermines the real solutions to climate change by diverting
urgently needed investments away from clean, renewable sources of energy and
energy efficiency.” Greenpeace International 01/2009
Fears & Myths
SLIDE 16
Fears & Myths
Top issues driving the anti-nuclear movement:
• Three Mile Island / Chernobyl
• Safety / Terrorists
• Nuclear Waste / Radiation Exposure
SLIDE 17
Fears & Myths
Three Mile Island / Chernobyl
Accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, though serious events, led to significant improvements in nuclear plant safety.
SLIDE 18
Fears & Myths
Apart from Chernobyl, no nuclear workers or members of the public have ever died as a result of exposure to radiation due to a commercial nuclear reactor incident.
SLIDE 19
Safety
Nuclear energy is safe and secure.
Strict government regulations, continuous training by the industry, and
enhanced security measures have combined to ensure safety insideand outside of the nations’s nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants
are designed and operated safely, with multiple back-up safety systems, including automatic shutdowns.
SLIDE 20
Safety
The nation’s nuclear power plants are among the safest and most secure industrial facilities in the United States.
SLIDE 21
Nuclear Waste / Radiation Exposure
Used nuclear fuel is a solid material safely stored at nuclear plant sites. This is one part of an integrated used fuel management system.
Managing Used
Nuclear Fuel
SLIDE 23
Managing Used
Nuclear Fuel
The U.S. government has a legal obligation to manage reactor fuel and plans
to dispose of this material at a specially designed repository at Yucca Mtn.
SLIDE 26
Nuclear Energy is Clean Energy
Nuclear energy has perhaps the lowest impact on the environment - including air,
land, water, and wildlife - of any energy source. It produces no harmful greenhouse
gases, isolates its waste from the environment, and requires less area to produce the
same amount of electricity as other sources.
Clean Energy
SLIDE 31
Nuclear power is the lowest-cost producer of baseload electricity.
What about cost?
No new nuclear or coal plants may ever be needed in the
United States. "We may not need any, ever … I think
baseload capacity is going to become an anachronism,"
Jon Wellinghoff, FERC chairman in The New York Times.
“Today, many observers consider coal and nuclear power to
be the only reliable future sources of base-load power.”
Fred P. Bosselman, Professor of Law Emeritus in NYU
Environmental Law Journal article, The Ecological
Advantages of Nuclear Power.
SLIDE 33
Some say the demand could be as high as 45% by 2030. How is this Demand Met?
Using today’s current ratios, a 45% demand increase for electricity would need to be met by building:
– 66 Nuclear Reactors– 277 Coal-fired Plants– 147 Natural Gas Plants– 93 Wind Farms
What about demand?
SLIDE 35
We Can’t Get There From Here
Political will and a price on CO2 won't be enough to bring about low carbon energy sources.
“Even if we scale up existing technologies to mind-bending levels, such as finishing one nuclear plant every other day for the next 40 years, we'll still fall short of how much low-carbon energy will be needed to keep atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide below what scientists now recognize as the point of no return.”
Is it Possible?
SLIDE 36
One SolutionAdvanced Reactor Design
● One Stop Licensing
● New Passive Systems
● Simplified Design
● More Fuel Efficient
Is it Possible?
SLIDE 37
• One Stop Licensing
Combined License (COL) - New
Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) for Construction License - Old
Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) for Operating License - Old
• Passive Safety Systems - NEW
Less power operated equipment
Lower power required to operate safety systems
Reduced construction cost
Reduced surveillance testing (lower O&M costs)
Advanced Reactors
SLIDE 39
**
50% Fewer
Valves
35% Fewer
Safety Grade
Pumps
80% Less
Pipe
45% Less
Seismic Building
Volume
85% Less
Cable
Simplification of Design Eliminates Components and Reduces Cost
****
50% Fewer
Valves
35% Fewer
Safety Grade
Pumps
80% Less
Pipe
45% Less
Seismic Building
Volume
85% Less
Cable
Simplification of Design Eliminates Components and Reduces Cost
Advanced Reactors
SLIDE 40
How should the U.S. meet this demand?
There is no single solution, but new nuclear plants are a necessary part of the portfolio if we plan to meet growing demand and reach green house gas reduction emission targets.
Conclusion
SLIDE 41
Owner Location COL APP No Units Type
NRG Energy South Texas 11/29/2007 2 ABWR
TVA/NuStart Bellefonte, AL 1/18/2008 2 AP1000
Constellation (UniStar) Calvert Cliffs, Maryland 1/25/2008 1 EPR
Dominion North Anna, VA 1/28/2008 1 ESBWR
Duke South Carolina 2/25/2008 2 AP1000
Entergy/NuStart Grand Gulf, MS 4/17/2008 1 ESBWR
Southern Vogle, GA 5/30/2008 2 AP1000
SCE&G V. C. Summer, SC 7/31/2008 2 AP1000
Progress Florida 10/6/2008 2 AP1000
Exelon Victoria County, Texas 10/29/2008 2 TBA
Detroit Edison Fermi, MI 11/25/2008 1 ESBWR
Luminant Power Commanche Peak, Texas 12/2/2008 2 USAPWR
AmerenUE Callaway, MO 12/4/2008 1 EPR
Constellation (UniStar) 9 Mile Pt, New York 12/4/2008 1 EPR
Entergy Riverbend, LA 12/4/2008 1 ESBWR
PPL Corporation Bell Bend, PA 12/142008 1 EPR
Progress Harris, NC 4/172008 2 AP1000
Alternate Energy Holdings Hammette, ID 2009 1 EPR
Amarillo Power Amarillo,Texas 2009 2 US EPR
FPL Levy County, Florida 2009 2 AP1000
Transition Power Utah, Blue Castel Project 2010 1 ?
Unannounced ? 2010 1 ?
Unannounced ? 2010 1 ?
Total 34
Appendix