Office of Inspector General report on followup audit on the procurement of support services for the Energy Information Administration

The used fuel inventory of the United States commercial nuclear fleet has been accumulating since the inception of nuclear reactors. In order to understand the mass and composition of the used fuel inventory, a nuclear fuel cycle simulation package (Cyclus) is used with a reactor modeling tool (Bright-lite). The parameters for the simulation are obtained as historical operation and burnup data for every reactor in the US fleet, taken from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The historical burnup data is used to calculate the fuel enrichment of every reactor at every refueling. Discharged uranium inventories calculated by the software are shown to closely match the reference data. The total mass of three major actinide groups are presented as they build up over time. In addition, the evolution of the plutonium composition in discharged fuel is also presented, illustrating Cyclus’ ability to track the composition of material flowing through a large, evolving reactor fleet over decades.

Download Full-text

Forest Biomass Supply for Bioenergy Production and Its Impacts on Roundwood Markets in Tennessee

Southern Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/sjaf/35.2.80 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 80-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Zhimei Guo ◽

Donald G. Hodges ◽

Robert C. Abt

Keyword(s):

Forest Biomass ◽

Energy Information Administration ◽

Reference Case ◽

Alternative Source ◽

Distant Future ◽

Bioenergy Production ◽

Short Run ◽

Additional Demand ◽

Annual Capacity ◽

Energy Information

Abstract The use of forest biomass as an alternative source for bioenergy production has become a significant issue in Tennessee. This study used the Sub-Regional Timber Supply model to analyze the regional aggregate forest biomass feedstock potential and the impacts of additional pulpwood demand on the regional roundwood market through 2030. Two scenarios examined the impacts of building a biorefinery facility of 20 and 50 million gallons annual capacity in the state in 2015. The third scenario investigated the impacts of an Energy Information administration (EIA) reference case. The projection results suggest that there is sufficient hardwood pulpwood supply for a 50 million gallon biorefinery facility in Tennessee. It is possible to meet the increased demand of the EIA reference case without affecting the hardwood pulpwood market in the short run, but not in the distant future. The additional demand for softwood pulpwood will affect the softwood market substantially, but the impacts on the hardwood market are comparatively small. Hence, it is more feasible to increase the use of hardwood pulpwood for renewable energy rather than softwood pulpwood. These results will be very helpful in sustainably supplying forest biomass for bioenergy production in Tennessee.

Download Full-text