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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.
Yoshitaka Chikazawa, Mamoru Konomura, Tomoyasu Mizuno, Makoto Mito, Mikio Tanji
Nuclear Technology | Volume 154 | Number 2 | May 2006 | Pages 142-154
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT06-A3724
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A small fast reactor has the potential to be utilized as a power source applicable to diversified social needs and to reduce capital risks. At remote sites where the population is small and plants cannot be economically connected to a power grid, power sources without refueling whose capacities are <50 MW(electric) are required because the fuel transfer cost is expensive at such sites. In the present study, a small lead-bismuth-cooled core with a 30-yr lifetime has been developed, and a simple plant system without refueling has been sketched. The dimensions of the major components are determined to evaluate its economic potential. Transient analyses of anticipated-transient-without-scram events show that the design has passive safety features suitable for a remote power source.