REGISTRATION OPEN - ECA Forum: Hosting New Nuclear Development, Aug 3-5 in SLC
ECA Staff | 5/31/2022
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As part of our New Nuclear Initiative, the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) invites you to participate in the ECA Forum: Hosting New Nuclear Development, August 3-5, 2022 at the Marriott University Park in Salt Lake City, Utah.
As the country pursues an all-of-the-above energy strategy, energy independence and mitigation of climate change impacts, support for nuclear energy continues to grow. ECA believes in the great potential for nuclear energy to deliver dependable baseload power alongside renewables, create jobs, rebuild the nuclear manufacturing supply chain, and power hybrid energy systems for industry as well as for space propulsion.
New and advanced nuclear technologies like small modular reactors, microreactors, fast-neutron reactors, and accident-tolerant fuels are being developed that promise to be smaller, simpler, safer and, importantly, economically competitive.
For these “new nuclear” projects – many of them first-of-a-kind – to be commercially-viable and successfully deployed, each project must be integrated into its host community with alignment around key issues: siting, planning, workforce, financing, and marketing. Each project must be located where the community supports the mission and has:
- Required federal and private funding,
- Regulatory assurance,
- Demand for the electrons or heat being generated,
- Availability of related goods and services, and
- Partnerships at all levels of government.
Examples of how these partnerships drive success can be seen in communities around the country, specifically those that have long supported federal nuclear missions. Local governments in these communities are eager to support the new generation of nuclear technologies, realize the myriad benefits these projects bring with them, and see successful demonstrations become widespread commercial deployment.
To better understand how to match potential host community strengths and needs with those of advanced nuclear project developers, the Forum will:
- Provide a venue for nuclear technology and project developers to meet and interact with interested potential host communities, with exhibition booth spaces and separate, small meeting room availability.
- Share lessons learned from communities already hosting nuclear power facilities or federal nuclear missions and help outline what any local government needs to understand and should consider as potential hosts for nuclear projects.
- Facilitate discussions to better understand the outlook for new nuclear development and provide realistic timelines for local governments and economic development entities looking at siting, regulation, public-private partnerships and how to build support from the ground-up.
The agenda will also feature four case studies on new nuclear development in Idaho Falls, Idaho; Richland, Washington; Kemmerer, Wyoming; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Portsmouth, Ohio with presentations by the teams – from the developer, utility, local government, and local economic development entities – on progress being made and the challenges that remain.
Please note this meeting is open to both ECA and non-ECA members.
For more information on the hotel and group rate, please click here. For questions - including discounts for ECA members and local governments - please
contact Sarah Templeton, ECA Program Manager, at [email protected] and Kara Colton, ECA Director of Nuclear Policy, at [email protected].
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SAVE OUR DATES
September 21-23, 2022
NEW VENUE: CRYSTAL GATEWAY MARRIOTT IN ARLINGTON, VA!
We are pleased to host the 2022 National Cleanup Workshop at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA. Join us to discuss a new era of cleanup success. Hear from senior DOE officials, local government officials, and industry leaders about DOE's cleanup priorities, the future of the workforce, and more.
Additional information on registration and hotel room blocks is available here. We look forward to seeing you in September!
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SAVE OUR DATES
August 3-5, 2022
Salt Lake City Marriott University Park
Recognizing the opportunity to address goals shared broadly among U.S. Department of Energy program offices and in frontline communities across the federal nuclear complex, the Energy Communities Alliance will host the ECA Forum: Hosting New Nuclear Development on August 3-5,
2022 at the Salt Lake City Marriott University Park.
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Three early-stage R&D programs transforming the nuclear industry
DOE-NE | 5/24/2022
Nuclear is getting a facelift and it could play a huge role in supporting the world’s transition to cleaner energy sources.
Dozens of U.S. companies are working on a fourth generation of reactor designs that will soon come in a variety of sizes. These reactors offer enhanced versatility and could be more affordable to build and operate. Some of them could even help reduce the volume of spent nuclear fuel required for permanent disposal.
But in order to realize this potential, reactor developers need help lowering the risk of these clean energy technologies before key infrastructure and supply chains are lost.
Here are three ARPA-E programs helping to make advanced nuclear a reality.
1. LOWERING CAPITAL COSTS THROUGH MEITNER
Ten projects were selected to develop new enabling technology. These innovations range from lowering construction costs through new modular or advanced manufacturing techniques to reducing operational expenses through robotics, autonomous
controls, and advanced sensors.
All of them could help modernize the nation’s domestic nuclear supply chain and make new nuclear power plants financially more attractive to build and operate.
2. LOWERING O&M COSTS THROUGH GEMINA
Despite the nuclear industry’s high performance in generating more than half of the nation’s clean energy, nearly a quarter of the U.S. nuclear fleet is experiencing financial hardship.
Roughly 80% of a reactor’s total generating cost is attributed to operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses. ARPA-E’s GEMINA is looking to drastically slash fixed O&M costs at advanced reactor power plants by a factor of ten over the current
fleet.
Nine projects are currently underway developing digital twins, or similar technologies, for an advanced reactor design. Teams are utilizing artificial intelligence, advanced control systems, predictive maintenance, and other cutting-edge
breakthroughs to help inform and optimize O&M procedures for advanced nuclear power plants designs.
The overall goal is to achieve fixed O&M costs for the advanced reactor fleet at nearly $2 per megawatt-hour—ultimately making advanced nuclear power plants more economical, flexible, and efficient.
3. REDUCING SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL THROUGH ONWARDS
Finally, ARPA-E’s ONWARDS aims to develop breakthrough technologies that will help facilitate a ten times reduction in the volume of spent nuclear fuel required for permanent disposal.
Eleven project teams are focused on improvements to fuel recycling, safeguards in accounting for nuclear materials, and developing high-performance waste forms that span across multiple reactor classes.
ONWARDS plans to achieve global back-end disposal costs of advanced reactor waste forms in the range of $1 per megawatt-hour.
ARPA-E recently launched a separate program, CURIE, focused on technologies to improve the methods for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from current reactors. These efforts could not only reduce the volume of spent nuclear fuel required for disposal but also produce a secure, domestic feedstock supply for new
fast reactor designs.
Project teams are expected to be selected in October 2022.
A DEPARTMENT-WIDE APPROACH
ARPA-E is one of several offices within the U.S. Department of Energy supporting the development and deployment of advanced reactor technologies.
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Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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