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NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Koki Hibi, Masato Uchita
Nuclear Technology | Volume 145 | Number 3 | March 2004 | Pages 239-246
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3473
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This study presents the conceptual design of the recycle pressurized water reactor (RPWR), which is an innovative PWR fueled with mixed oxide, moderated by heavy water, and having breeding ratios around 1.1. Most of the systems of RPWR can employ those of PWRs. The RPWR has no boric acid systems and has a small tritium removal system. The construction and operation costs would be similar to those of current PWRs. Heavy water cost has decreased drastically with up-to-date producing methods. The reliability of the systems of the RPWR is high, and the research and development cost for RPWR is very low because the core design is fundamentally based on the current PWR technology.