Changing of the guard at the NRC
Challenges ahead include license applications, reactor designs, and the pace of development of the nuclear renaissance
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is the gatekeeper for new reactor design, construction, and licensing for this country. Its safety and environmental requirements for light water reactors are so thorough that they are considered to be the "gold standard" for other countries. The five commissioners who drive policy decisions for the NRC are appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The Obama administration inherited an agency with two vacancies and a Chairman appointed by the prior Republican president. President Obama appointed then serving NRC Commissioner Gregory Jazcko chairman which moved Dale Klein out of that role while retaining his seat at the NRC. Klein could have served out his term, but instead submitted his resignation subject to the swearing in of a replacement.
This gave the White House three open slots to fill. The good news for the nuclear renaissance is that all three nominees have sterling credentials to serve and were confirmed by unanimous consent in the Senate on Friday March 19. They will be sworn in this coming week.
Bill Magwood, a former nuclear energy official at the U.S. Department of Energy, was targeted by anti-nuclear groups. They alleged he is too close to the nuclear industry to be an impartial and effective regulator. Magwood disputed that charge during his confirmation hearings.
The other two people confirmed as NRC commissioners Friday are Massachusetts Institute of Technology nuclear science professor George Apostolakis, who is past chairman of NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, and William Ostendorff, the former principal deputy administrator at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Work waiting for new members
The NRC faces a significant workload so getting the five member group up to full strength comes not a moment too soon. The NRC has 17 license applications pending for a total of 26 new reactors. They represent $186 billion in new construction. The first wave of public hearings on the license applications will take place in 2011.
In addition to new license applications, the NRC is also in the process of certifying three reactor designs and updating the certification of another. They are the Areva EPR, GE-Hitachi ESBWR, and Mitsubishi APWR. The Westinghouse AP1000 reactor design is getting an updated certification.
The third major area of work for the new commissioners will be license renewal of current reactors. There are 12 reactors with license renewals in process and another 15 which will come in for action within the terms of the new commissioners.
Slower growth for electricity demand
While all this work is going on, the current economic conditions are creating havoc with projections of electricity demand. The first new reactors will come online sometime in the middle of the next decade. This creates uncertainty whether the prior level of electricity demand will come back. Some economists have suggested that the nation has entered a protracted period of slow economic growth.
This new uncertainty is also reflected in a speech by Marvin Fertel, the CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). He said his group, which represents the major nuclear utilities, thinks the 'nuclear renaissance' is slowing down. He said that the first wave of new nuclear reactors will be pushed back by two-to-three years due to slower growth in electricity demand.
"The recession has decreased demand of electricity everywhere," Nuclear Energy Institute chief Marvin Fertel said in an interview with The Associated Press. "You're seeing a natural movement" away from early completion dates.”
The key area of declining demand is in the nation's industrial sector. For instance, the auto industry has been particularly hard hit with plant closings and reduced production of cars.
Fertel did not name specific utilities that would stretch out their schedules. Four utilities are on a short list for federal government loan guarantees. Their projects will assess conditions in each of their service areas so it is not a case of one size fits all.
Slower schedule for new reactors may be good
The projected slow down does not mean there is necessarily a negative impact on the industry. Dale Klein, former Chairman of the NRC, (right) told a group of nuclear energy bloggers in a conference call on March 21 that "the nuclear renaissance is alive and well."
Klein said five of the 17 license applications have pushed back their schedules, but that all are forecasted to eventually complete the process. Klein added that the longer lead time for new reactors will give the industry the breathing room it needs to ramp up the supply chain for new reactors and to increase the number of nuclear engineers to work on them.
"I can see the U.S. industry building two-of-three plants by the middle of the next decade," Klein said, "regardless of the change in electricity demand."
Asked what he sees as future challenges for the three new commissioners, Klein cited the need for the nation to come up with a new policy on management of spent nuclear fuel.
"We know we can store spent nuclear fuel safely in dry casks at reactors," Klein said. "I think a national interim storage facility is an option. The new Blue Ribbon Commission will also address issues like recycling."
He also mentioned the uranium mining industry is ramping up with new mines and uranium enrichment plants in anticipation of significant worldwide increase in demand for nuclear fuel.
Certifying small reactor designs
Another challenge for the three new commissioners will be to guide the NRC to license new types of reactors. Currently, the NRC has the most experience with light water reactors. However, new designs, including small reactors, will require the NRC to develop new safety review procedures to take these technologies into account.
Klein suggested that Congress could amend the agency's cost recover rule so that investors in new small reactor technologies don't go broke paying for the NRC's learning curve.
Public support up for nuclear energy
Overall, slow down or not, public support for nuclear energy is growing according to a new Gallop poll. It reports that 62% of Americans favor use of nuclear power as a way to generate electricity.
One clear division stands out in the date. Although President Obama has come out strongly in favor in nuclear energy, Three-fourths, or 74%, of Republicans favor nuclear power, compared to one-half, or 51%, of Democrats.
Nuclear regulators don't rely on political polls to make decisions. However, strong public support for nuclear energy will make some proceedings at the NRC less contentious, or at least that's the hopeful sign from these data.
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