Competitiveness, Economics and Intangibles of New Nuclear Power Plants - An Implementation Perspective
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Bob Coward, a Principal Officer of MPR Associates, gave a speech titled Competitiveness, Economic and Intangibles of New Nuclear Power Plants- An Implementation Perspective to a conference sponsored by the US Nuclear Infrastructure Council where he highlighted the rising total cost of new nuclear units to be the greatest challenge facing the new nuclear industry. According to Coward’s speech, the nuclear industry has made considerable progress in the reliability of new nuclear units over the past five years.
Hydrogen Production by Nuclear Heat: The Energy Carrier of the Future
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Research and development is constantly underway to create the next generation energy technology. It is impossible to know what the future holds, but future energy technology must be expandable, must be environmentally sound, must be effective and allow for expansion to improve the standard of living around the world, must be safe (both secure from outside threats and with a low risk to health and safety), and the energy technology must be economical. With these factors in mind, many believe that hydrogen is poised to be the next big revolution in the energy market. This paper considers several options for the production phase of this energy medium. The collection, transmission, and end-uses of hydrogen are not discussed. Specifically, the potential of three hydrogen production processes under development for the industrial production of hydrogen using nuclear energy are compared and evaluated.
The Very High Temperature Reactor: A Technical Summary
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In 2000, the United States Department of Energy formed the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) to advance nuclear energy in order to fulfill future energy needs. The GIF has categorized the goals for future nuclear power into four areas, which are referred to throughout this report. (1) Sustainability: Sustainability is the ability to meet the energy needs of the present generation while enhancing the ability to meet the energy needs of future generations indefinitely. Sustainability goals focus on waste management and resource utilization. The sustainability of GENIV systems also includes extending nuclear power into other energy areas, such as transportation, by using nuclear process heat to manufacture other energy products, such as hydrogen. (2) Economic Competitiveness: Economic goals consider competitive costs and financial risks. Economic goals focus on reducing operating and capital costs through increased efficiency, design simplification, advances in fabrication and construction techniques, and possible standardization and modularization. (3) Safety and Reliability: Safety and reliability goals include safe and reliable operation, improved accident management and mitigation, investment protection, and reduced off-site response. The focus for GENIV systems is on the use of inherent safety features and designs. (4) Proliferation Resistance and Physical Protection: Proliferation resistance and physical protection goals consider methods for controlling and securing nuclear material and nuclear facilities against unintentional and intentional actions.