scholarly journals Prospects for Nuclear Power

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas W Davis
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Nuclear Plants ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cost Of Construction

Nuclear power has long been controversial because of concerns about nuclear accidents, storage of spent fuel, and how the spread of nuclear power might raise risks of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. These concerns are real and important. However, emphasizing these concerns implicitly suggests that unless these issues are taken into account, nuclear power would otherwise be cost effective compared to other forms of electricity generation. This implication is unwarranted. Throughout the history of nuclear power, a key challenge has been the high cost of construction for nuclear plants. Construction costs are high enough that it becomes difficult to make an economic argument for nuclear even before incorporating these external factors. This is particularly true in countries like the United States where recent technological advances have dramatically increased the availability of natural gas. The chairman of one of the largest U.S. nuclear companies recently said that his company would not break ground on a new nuclear plant until the price of natural gas was more than double today's level and carbon emissions cost $25 per ton. This comment summarizes the current economics of nuclear power pretty well. Yes, there is a certain confluence of factors that could make nuclear power a viable economic option. Otherwise, a nuclear power renaissance seems unlikely.

The History of Personnel and Vocational Testing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Zickar
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
World War I ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Us Military ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
Vocational Testing

Personnel and vocational testing has made a huge impact in public and private organizations by helping organizations choose the best employees for a particular job (personnel testing) and helping individuals choose occupations for which they are best suited (vocational testing). The history of personnel and vocational testing is one in which scientific advances were influenced by historical and technological developments. The first systematic efforts at personnel and vocational testing began during World War I when the US military needed techniques to sort through a large number of applicants in a short amount of time. Techniques of psychological testing had just begun to be developed at around the turn of the 20th century and those techniques were quickly applied to the US military effort. After the war, intelligence and personality tests were used by business organizations to help choose applicants most likely to succeed in their organizations. In addition, when the Great Depression occurred, vocational interest tests were used by government organizations to help the unemployed choose occupations that they might best succeed in. The development of personnel and vocational tests was greatly influenced by the developing techniques of psychometric theory as well as general statistical theory. From the 1930s onward, significant advances in reliability and validity theory provided a framework for test developers to be able to develop tests and validate them. In addition, the civil rights movement within the United States, and particularly the Civil Rights Act of 1964, forced test developers to develop standards and procedures to justify test usage. This legislation and subsequent court cases ensured that psychologists would need to be involved deeply in personnel testing. Finally, testing in the 1990s onward was greatly influenced by technological advances. Computerization helped standardize administration and scoring of tests as well as opening up the possibility for multimedia item formats. The introduction of the internet and web-based testing also provided additional challenges and opportunities.

Conceptual Design of a 4 × 300 MW Modular Nuclear Plant

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asko Vuorinen
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Plant ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Modular Construction ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Nuclear Plants ◽  
Original Estimate ◽  
Under Construction

The Finnish companies have built four medium size nuclear power plants. In addition they have constructed two nuclear icebreakers and several floating power plants. The latest 1650 MWe nuclear power plant under construction Olkiluoto-3 has had many problems, which have raised the costs of the plant to €3500/kWe from its original estimate of €2000/kWe and constriction schedule from four to eight years. It is possible to keep the costs down and schedule short by making the plant in shipyard and transport it to site by sea. The plant could be then lifted to its place by pumping seawater into the channel. This kind of concept was developed by the author in 1991, when he was making his thesis of modular gas fired power plants in Helsinki University of Technology. The modular construction of nuclear plants has made in a form of two nuclear icebreakers, which Wa¨rtsila¨ Marine has built in Helsinki Shipyard. The latest modular nuclear plant was launched in 2010 in St Petersburg shipyard. One of the benefits of modular construction is a possibility to locate the plant under rock by making the transportation channels in tunnels. This will give the plant external protection for aircraft crash and make the outer containment unnecessary. The water channels could also be used as pressure suppression pools in case of venting steam from the containment. This could reduce the radioactive releases in case of possible reactor accidents. The two 440 MW VVER plants build in Finland had construction costs of €1600 /kWe at 2011 money. The author believes that a 1200 MW nuclear plant with four 300 MW units can be constructed in five years and with €3300/kW costs, where the first plant could be generating power within 40 months and next units with 6 month intervals.

Renewable Energy: A Very Short Introduction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Jelley
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Lithium Ion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
History Of ◽  
Paris Climate Agreement

Energy is vital for a good standard of living, and affordable and adequate sources of power that do not cause climate change or pollution are crucial. Renewables can meet the world’s energy needs without compromising human health and the environment, and this VSI gives a history of their deployment and the principles of their technologies. Wind and solar farms can now provide the cheapest electricity in many parts of the world. Decarbonizing heat is just as important as clean electricity, and can be achieved using renewably generated electricity to power heat pumps and to produce combustible fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia. Several other clean alternatives, notably hydropower, biofuels, nuclear power, and carbon capture, are also becoming important. Lithium-ion batteries are enabling the electrification of transport and providing grid storage. But while market forces are helping the transition from fossil fuels to renewables, there are opposing pressures, such as the United States’ proposed withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, and vested commercial interests in fossil fuels. Net-zero emissions must be reached by 2050 for a sustainable future, and governments must act quickly to accelerate the transition.

Technical hurdles may block China nuclear power plans

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
International Market ◽  
The United States ◽  
Electricity Supply ◽  
Energy Capacity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Nuclear Plants

Subject China's nuclear programme. Significance China has the world's largest fleet of new nuclear plants and plans to increase its nuclear energy capacity more than fivefold over the next 15 years. It is one of the few countries to be adding to capacity, while expansion has largely stalled in Europe, the United States and Japan. Chinese companies have also started to sign deals with other countries to build plants there. Impacts Nuclear energy will enhance security of electricity supply in the economically crucial coastal provinces. Success in its domestic programme would position China to rival Russia in the international market. Nuclear power will help China tackle air pollution, currently a greater political liability than concerns about nuclear safety. Public opinion seems unlikely to become a barrier to expansion unless there is a serious nuclear accident.

Grid Collapse Security, Stability and Vulnerability Issues: Impactful Issues Affecting Nuclear Power Plants, Chemical Plants and Natural Gas Supply Systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert McCreight
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Chemical Plants ◽  
Cyber Attack

Abstract Vulnerability to extended power outages stemming from grid collapse triggered by terrorism, technological accident, cyber attack or geomagnetic storms is understood to mean the widest possible spectrum of immediate and downstream consequences for our nations critical infrastructure. Regrettably few realistic plans are in place for dealing with this risk especially as it pertains to three primary energy systems of strategic significance to the United States – nuclear power, chemical manufacturing and natural gas supplies. The author argues that greater sustained attention is needed to upgrade the resilience of these systems, foster greater sharing of remedies among them to offset the worst effects of grid collapse which exceeds 15 consecutive calendar days and build collective avenues of enhanced risk mitigation against such scenarios.

Preparing for the Extended Loss of AC Power (ELAP) Event in the USA

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph S. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Ac Power ◽  
The Us ◽  
External Events ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Regulatory Commission

The United States utilities started preparing for external events that could lead to a loss of all ac power in the 1980’s, when the Station Blackout (SBO) rulemaking was first introduced by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). Following the events at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011, the USNRC established a senior-level agency task force referred to as the Near-Term Task Force (NTTF). The NTTF was tasked with conducting a systematic, methodical review of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations and processes to determine if the agency should make additional improvements to these programs in light of the events at Fukushima Dai-ichi. As a result of this review, the NTTF developed a comprehensive set of recommendations, documented in SECY-11-0093, “Near-Term Report and Recommendations for Agency Actions Following the Events in Japan,” dated July 12, 2011. Documentation of the staff’s efforts is contained in SECY-11-0124, “Recommended Actions to be Taken without Delay from the Near-Term Task Force Report,” dated September 9, 2011, and SECY-11-0137, “Prioritization of Recommended Actions to be Taken in Response to Fukushima Lessons Learned,” dated October 3, 2011. To satisfy some of the NRC’s recommendations, the industry described its proposal for a Diverse and Flexible Mitigation Capability (FLEX), as documented in Nuclear Energy Institute’s (NEI) letter, dated December 16, 2011 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML11353A008). FLEX was proposed as a strategy to fulfill the key safety functions of core cooling, containment integrity, and spent fuel cooling. The events at Fukushima Dai-ichi highlight the possibility that extreme natural phenomena could challenge the prevention, mitigation and emergency preparedness defense-in-depth layers. At Fukushima, limitations in time and unpredictable conditions associated with the accident significantly challenged attempts by the responders to preclude core damage and containment failure. During the events in Fukushima, the challenges faced by the operators were beyond any faced previously at a commercial nuclear reactor. NRC Order 12-049 (Ref. 1) and NRC Interim Staff Guidance JLD-ISG-2012-01 (Ref. 6) provided additional requirements to mitigate beyond-design-basis external events. These additional requirements impose guidance and strategies to be available if the loss of power, motive force and normal access to the ultimate heat sink to prevent fuel damage in the reactor and spent fuel pool affected all units at a site simultaneously. The NEI submitted document NEI 12-06, “Diverse and Flexible Coping Strategies (FLEX) Implementation Guide” in August 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12242A378) to provide specifications for the nuclear power industry in the development, implementation, and maintenance of guidance and strategies in response to NRC Order EA-12-049. The US utilities are currently proposing modifications to their plants that will follow specifications provided in NEI 12-06. This paper presents some of the NEI 12-06 requirements and some of the proposed modifications proposed by the US utilities.

Toward Renewed Legitimacy? Nuclear Power, Global Warming, and Security

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Stoett
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Low Emission ◽  
History Of ◽  
Power Complex ◽  
State Industry

With calls for the renewal of the nuclear energy industry in the United States and elsewhere, the international political economy of this troubled industry assumes increased importance. Though technical difficulties have plagued the industry for many decades, it is the equally problematic task of establishing public trust on which the article focuses. Arguably, with the advent of widespread concern over global warming, nuclear power offers a low-emission alternative. Yet safety, security, and political concerns color this highly centralized energy source, as well as its export-based political economy. The article traces the history of global nuclear commerce, as well as recent attempts to revive the industry. I suggest that efforts to re-legitimize the state-industry-power complex by way of nuclear commerce and associated discourse may have some success, but this will be tempered by sustained opposition to the centralizing tendencies of nuclear power and continued safety concerns.

scholarly journals The Fuel Cycle Implications of Nuclear Process Heat

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 6073
Author(s):  
Aiden Peakman ◽  
Robert Gregg
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Industrial Process ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Decay Heat ◽  
Nuclear Plants ◽  
Process Heat

International and UK fuel cycle scenario analyses performed to date have focused on nuclear plants producing electricity without considering in detail the other potential drivers for nuclear power, such as industrial process heat. Part of the reason behind the restricted applications of nuclear power is because the assumptions behind the future scenario are not fully captured, for example how big are demands from different sectors? Here we present a means to fully capture the potential opportunities for nuclear power using Sankey diagrams and then, using this information, consider for the first time in the UK the fuel cycle implications of decarbonising industrial heat demand in the year 2050 with nuclear power using the ORION fuel cycle code to study attributes related to spent fuel, uranium demand and decay heat from the spent fuel. We show that even in high industrial energy demand scenarios, the sensitivity of spent fuel masses and decay heat to the types of reactor deployed is relatively small compared to the greater fuel cycle demands from large-scale deployment of nuclear plants for electricity production. However, the sensitivity of spent fuel volumes depends heavily on the extent to which High Temperature Reactor and Light Water Reactor systems operating on a once-through cycle are deployed.

Bayesian Analysis of Piping Leak Frequency Using OECD/NEA Data

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Wang ◽  
Mahesh D. Pandey ◽  
Jovica R. Riznic
Keyword(s):  
Failure Rate ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bayesian Procedure ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Energy Agency ◽  
Failure Frequency ◽  
Nuclear Plants ◽  
Consistent Manner ◽  
Construction Operation

The estimation of piping failure frequency is an important task to support the probabilistic risk analysis and risk-informed in-service inspection of nuclear power plant systems. This paper describes a hierarchical or two-stage Poisson-gamma Bayesian procedure and applies this to estimate the failure frequency using the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency pipe leakage data for the United States nuclear plants. In the first stage, a generic distribution of failure rate is developed based on the failure observations from a group of similar plants. This distribution represents the interplant (plant-to-plant) variability arising from differences in construction, operation, and maintenance conditions. In the second stage, the generic prior obtained from the first stage is updated by using the data specific to a particular plant, and thus a posterior distribution of plan specific failure rate is derived. The two-stage Bayesian procedure is able to incorporate different levels of variability in a more consistent manner.

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