At the present, US utilities and industry are mainly focused on improving performance of operating plants and adjusting to de-regulation (separation of the power production business into generation, distribution, and retailing). The generation business is now open to competition. Another trend is the consolidation of the utilities; owners with a small number of N-plant who don't want to be in the business are selling them to larger N-plant owners. Two years ago, the growth business was decommissioning; this year the shutdown has stopped as owners realize the asset values of their N-plants. There is now a backlog of 20 applications for license renewal. However, there is no new nuclear plant order - too expensive.

But changes are underway. The US government now has renewed interest in nuclear R&D - e.g., the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) program. More significantly is the NRC's new approach to regulation - "risk inform", working together with the industry, focused on safety; not just on compliance all the time. But competition (economics) will determine the technology selected and whether nuclear will make a comeback. Another trend is vender consolidation; only one US based nuclear supplier is left. Who will offer the designs for the next generation plants?

Some of the concerns are that US universities are shutting down their research reactors; nuclear engineering departments are closing or merging with others; and students are not entering the nuclear engineering field. Current generation of nuclear plants is not economically competitive.

What is being done? The department of energy is supporting the NERI because the US Congress is becoming concerned about loss of US leadership in nuclear technology. The next generation, "Generation IV", technologies are being developed; Generation IV being the current Advanced Light Water Reactors - ABWR, AP600, System 80+. For the next-generation plant designs, we need to change the way we build, operate, and license them.

Generation IV advanced nuclear power plants must: a) be competitive with natural gas, b) have demonstrated safety, c) be proliferation proof, d) have disposable high level waste form, e) be used internationally to meet CO2 build-up in the environment. Is there such a thing? Generation …¢ reactors being considered include the:

What can be done to make nuclear plants competitive? An "Economic and Environmental Imperative" study was sponsored by the American Nuclear Society. After a period of independent activities beginning in January of 1998, a team of students from MIT produced a report that led to the selection of the modular high temperature pebble bed reactor.

The MIT / INEEL project objective was to develop a sufficient technical and economic basis for this type of reactor plant to determine whether it can compete with natural gas and still meet safety, proliferation resistance and waste disposal concerns. To meet these objectives the following areas of research are being addressed: fuel reliability, thermal hydraulics, core neutronics, safety, proliferation resistance, waste disposal, and economics.

International application - not just for a few markets - is key to the realization of new advanced reactors. The IAEA brings together appropriate regulatory authorities to get agreements on how to certify the design and issue license that is acceptable to all countries. The plants will be built to common international standard. Infrastructure is build to provide international training and fuel support (both front and back end). However, no special skills is required to operate the plants.

In summary, many believe that HTGRs are not credible due to past failures; our work is meant to turn that belief around with substantive analysis. If successful, we propose building a reactor research facility to "license by test", explore different fuel cycles, process heat applications, and advanced control system design, helium gas turbines and other components. All within 5 years!

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