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NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, January-February 2016
White
House
Nuclear
Summit
The President’s FY 2016 Budget
includes more than $900 million for the
Department of Energy (DOE) to support
the U.S. civilian nuclear energy sector by
leading federal research, development,
and demonstration efforts in nuclear
energy technologies, ranging from
power generation, safety, hybrid energy
systems, and security technologies,
among other things. DOE also supports
the deployment of these technologies with
$12.5 billion in remaining loan guarantee
authority for advanced nuclear projects.
DOE’s investments in nuclear energy
help secure the three strategic objectives
that are foundational to our nation’s
energy system: energy security, economic
competitiveness,
and
environmental
responsibility.
The White House announced and
highlighted the following actions on
November 6, 2015 to sustain and advance
nuclear energy, including:
Launching
the
Gateway
for
Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear:
DOE is establishing the Gateway for
Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear
(GAIN) to provide the nuclear
energy community with access
to the technical, regulatory, and
financial support necessary to move
new or advanced nuclear reactor
designs toward commercialization
while ensuring the continued safe,
reliable, and economic operation
of the existing nuclear fleet. GAIN
will provide the nuclear community
with a single point of access to the
broad range of capabilities – people,
facilities, materials, and data – across
the DOE complex and its National
Lab capabilities. Focused research
opportunities and dedicated industry
engagement will also be important
components of GAIN, ensuring
that DOE-sponsored activities are
impactful to companies working to
realize the full potential of nuclear
energy. GAIN will feature:
Access to Capabilities: Through
the Clean Energy Investment
Center in DOE’s Office of
Technology Transitions (OTT),
GAIN will provide a single point
of contact for users interested
in a wide range of nuclear
energy related capabilities and
expertise. As an initiating step,
Idaho National Lab will serve as
the GAIN integrator for Office of
Nuclear Energy capabilities.
Nuclear Energy Infrastructure
Database:
DOE
is
also
publishing the Nuclear Energy
Infrastructure database (NEID),
which provides a catalogue of
existing nuclear energy related
infrastructure that will enhance
transparency and support nuclear
community engagement through
GAIN. NEID currently includes
information on 802 research
and development instruments in
377 facilities at 84 institutions
in the United States and
abroad. Nuclear technology
developers can access the
database to identify resources
available to support development
and implementation of their
technology, as well as contacts,
availability, and the process for
accessing the capability.
Small Business Vouchers: To
support the strong interest in
nuclear energy from a significant
number of new companies work-
ing to develop advanced nuclear
energy technologies, DOE plans
to make $2 million available in
the form of vouchers to provide
assistance to small business ap-
plicants (including entrepreneur-
led start-ups) seeking to access
the knowledge and capabilities
available across the DOE com-
plex. Assisting Navigation of the
Regulatory Process: The Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC),
consistent with its role as an in-
dependent safety and security
regulator, will provide DOE with
accurate, current information
on the NRC’s regulations and
licensing processes. DOE will
work through GAIN with pro-
spective applicants for advanced
nuclear technology to understand
and navigate the regulatory pro-
cess for licensing new reactor
technology.
Convening Second Workshop on
Advanced Non-Light Water Reactors
– The NRC and DOE will hold
the Second Advanced Non-Light
Water Reactors Workshops in spring
2016. The successful first workshop
was held in September 2015. The
purpose of the workshop is to explore
options for increased efficiency,
from both a technical and regulatory
perspective, in the safe development
and deployment of innovative reactor
technologies. This would include
examining both near-term and
longer-term opportunities to test,
demonstrate, and construct prototype
advanced reactors, and evaluate the
most appropriate licensing processes.
Establishing Light Water Reactor
(LWR) Research, Development,
and Deployment Working Group:
DOE is formally announcing the
establishment of the LWR Research,
Development,
and
Deployment
(RDD) Working Group to examine
possible needs for future RDD
to support the development of
competitive advanced LWRs, as
well as maintain the safe, efficient
operations of currently operating
nuclear power plants. The group
will consist of federal, national
laboratory, and industry participants.
Recommendations are expected to
DOE by February 2016.
Designing a Modernized LWR
Control Room: DOE is partnering
with Arizona Public Service’s Palo
Verde Nuclear Generating Station to
design a modernized control room
for an operating commercial LWR.
Working together through a cost-
shared partnership, DOE’s LWR
Sustainability Program and Palo
Verde will consider the best way to
replace traditional analog systems
with digital systems that optimize
control room operations. This work
supports the long-term sustainability
and efficiency of the currently
operating nuclear power plants by
assisting nuclear utilities to address
reliability and obsolescence issues of
legacy analog control rooms.
For additional information and
"contact" details, see
