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DOE announces NEPA exclusion for advanced reactors
The Department of Energy has announced that it is establishing a categorical exclusion for the application of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures to the authorization, siting, construction, operation, reauthorization, and decommissioning of advanced nuclear reactors.
According to the DOE, this significant change, which goes into effect today, “is based on the experience of DOE and other federal agencies, current technologies, regulatory requirements, and accepted industry practice.”
W. A. Houlberg, S. E. Attenberger
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 26 | Number 3 | November 1994 | Pages 566-571
Plasma Heating and Current Drive, Plasma Engineering | Proceedings of the Eleventh Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy New Orleans, Louisiana June 19-23, 1994 | doi.org/10.13182/FST94-A40217
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The reactor potential of some advanced physics operating modes proposed for the TPX physics program [1] are examined. A moderate aspect ratio (A = 4.5 as in TPX), 2 GW reactor (see Table I for parameters) is analyzed because of its potential for steady-state, non-inductive operation with high bootstrap current fraction. Particle, energy and toroidal current equations are evolved to steady-state conditions using the 1-1/2-D time-dependent WHIST transport code [2]. The solutions are therefore consistent with particle, energy and current sources and assumed transport models. Fast wave current drive (FWCD) provides the axial seed current. The bootstrap current typically provides 80–90% of the current, while feedback on the lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) power maintains the total current. The sensitivity of the plasma power amplification factor, Q ≡ Pfus/Paux, to variations in the plasma properties is examined. The auxiliary current drive power, Paux = PLH + PFW; bootstrap current fraction; current drive efficiency; and other parameters are evaluated. The plasma is thermodynamically stable for the energy confinement model assumed (a multiple of ITER89P). The FWCD and LHCD sources provide attractive control possibilities, not only for the current profile, but also for the total fusion power since the gain on the incremental auxiliary power is typically 10–30 in these calculations when overall Q ≈ 30.