Small Modular Reactors on Military Installations?
(This article summarizes a paper presented by the author at the ASME 2011 Small Modular Reactors Symposium)
Nuclear News and the new year
The January issue of Nuclear News magazine is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center). The issue contains the following stories:
Nuclear energy R&D budgets spared major cuts
Congress trims funding while adding new priorities
GE-Hitachi proposes to burn U.K. plutonium stockpile
An advanced reactor could be used to consume 112 tonnes of weapons grade material
"I&C" in Nuclear News
The December issue of Nuclear News magazine, which contains a special section on instrumentation and control, is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center). The special section contains the following stories:
Small Modular Reactors Competing Head to Head With Natural Gas
On Thursday, December 1, 2011, the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute at Chicago (EPIC) released a study titled Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U. S..
Hall Talk - Licensing the Integral Fast Reactor design
Our intrepid reporter files another update from the ANS Winter Meeting.
Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development
As discussed in my June 20 post, small modular reactors (SMRs) have many potential advantages, and could very well represent nuclear's best prospect for the future. The industry has run into trouble, however, in getting government support for getting SMRs off the ground.
ANS webinar with NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko a success
A collaborative effort between the American Nuclear Society and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission resulted in a successful 90-minute webinar on nuclear safety issues on October 4.
Loewen leads U.S. nuclear energy mission to India
A high-powered nuclear energy delegation from the United States, led by American Nuclear Society President Eric Loewen, is visiting India this week to participate in the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Energy Safety Summit being held here on September 30.
September 2011 Nuclear News is online
The September issue of Nuclear News is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center). The issue contains a variety of features, including:
ANS Winter Meeting is coming
It's time to make plans to attend the American Nuclear Society's 2011 Winter Meeting and Nuclear Technology Expo, this year held in Washington, DC, on October 30-November 3 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.
Profiles of Exceptional Women in Nuclear Energy
Editor: Dan Yurman
ANS Publishes Position Statement on Small Modular Reactors
Statement identifies advantages, makes recommendations
Some good news for a change
Help comes from positive news for getting nuclear energy out of its defensive corner
Small Modular Reactors and Current Policy Initiatives
Over the past year or so, there has been a lot of buzz about small modular reactors (SMRs). These are reactors whose electrical output ranges anywhere from ~25 MW to ~300 MW, as compared with over 1000 MW for large "conventional" nuclear power plants. With SMRs, the entire reactor (or possibly the entire nuclear island-NSSS) could be built in a factory and shipped to the site. Any site construction would be much more limited, and would only involve the (non-nuclear) balance of plant. Descriptions of some proposed SMRs can be found here, here and here.
ANS President Joe Colvin testifies about SMR legislation
On Tuesday, June 7, ANS President Joe Colvin testified about legislation pertaining to Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) before the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee. The committee hearing began at 10:00 am Eastern Time. A live Webcast was available via the committee's Web site (see "Live Webcast" on the left menu). An archive video will be available shortly after the hearing is complete.
The NN World List of Nuclear Power Plants
The hard-copy March edition of Nuclear News will soon be in the hands of American Nuclear Society members. That edition will also be available electronically to members. The edition contains the 13th Annual Reference Issue, which includes a 34-page special section on the World List of Nuclear Power Plants. The special section includes:
Nuclear budget proposals for FY 2012
The Obama administration, and the Department of Energy, recently released their fiscal year 2012 budget request for nuclear related programs. The budget request is pretty favorable to nuclear, given the current pressure in Washington to cut spending.
National Defense University publishes SMR article
The Institute for National Strategic Studies-a component of the National Defense University-has published a new article examining the potential for using small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) to address the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) dependence on civilian power grids. The article also looks at the potential for using SMRs in the field.