As of this month, nine different businesses have requested permission to build a total of 15 nuclear reactors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees U.S. nuclear power plant operation and licensing. The agency expects to receive applications for another 18 power plants, totaling 33 altogether, in the next year or so.

The last application the NRC approved was filed in 1974, and this recent onslaught of applications represents a steep rise in requests after a period of stagnation.

"We've had more applications, and there is an increase in the number of applications to build," said Ivonne Couret, public affairs officer for the NRC.

Several factors have influenced the recent rise in applications, including provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, experts say. The law provides risk insurance for companies venturing into the nuclear market after its 30-year lapse in growth.

But companies have to act fast to benefit from the insurance, which helps cover regulatory -- or litigation-related -- costs incurred in the application process through no fault of the company. The first two power plants to reach the construction phase can qualify for up to $500 million in coverage, and the next four up to $250 million. The availability of insurance has probably influenced the pace at which companies have begun to send in applications, said Eliot Brenner, director of public affairs for the NRC.

"Some companies are jumping in early to try and get these financial incentives," Brenner told United Press International.

Recent changes to the application process itself have also encouraged more companies to submit applications, which take close to a year to complete.

In previous years, an interested company had to apply for two licenses, one for construction and one for operating the plant. Now, the process has been streamlined into one license.

Other changes have also been implemented. Opportunities for public comment have been pushed to the front of the application process, instead of left to the end, in an effort to avoid a repeat of the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, a $6 billion facility in Long Island that was forced to close before it began generating power, following public demonstrations in 1989.

But public sentiment may be different today as well, another factor playing in nuclear power's favor. Growing acceptance of the energy source, powered by its economic viability and zero carbon emissions, has been reflected in the recent stances of many politicians, said Jerry Paul, senior adviser with the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, an organization that promotes nuclear power.

"I'm encouraged that a growing body of policymakers are looking at nuclear power as a part of our energy portfolio," Paul told UPI.

While the technology to deploy a large number of new nuclear power plants is available, recent advancements in reactor technology may make nuclear an even more efficient and attractive option, Paul said. These new reactors, called Generation IV reactors, could be particularly beneficial because of their ability to reduce the volume of nuclear waste -- one of the most controversial aspects of nuclear power.

"Generation IV reactors could be used to consume greater concentrations of nuclear fuel," Paul said. "This would reduce the volume of spent nuclear fuel that you would have to store long term."

Many universities are exploring ways to enhance nuclear reactor safety and efficiency, including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, N.Y. RPI, in partnership with Columbia University, Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory recently received a $3 million grant from the Department of Energy to fund a nuclear reactor research project.

Using two "supercomputers" -- each the equivalent of 60,000 to 70,000 desktop PCs -- the team of researchers is trying to create a test for nuclear reactors to pinpoint possible safety concerns. The computers will be used to simulate what might happen inside a reactor in certain situations, identifying potential problems ahead of time, said Michael Podowski, professor of nuclear engineering at RPI.

"Safety in any system is based on what may happen under different conditions," Podowski told UPI. "If we can anticipate that, we can design safety measures that account for possible problems" and try to prevent them.

Once these new computational models become available, researchers developing new nuclear reactors will be able to use them to assess and improve the safety of their designs, Podowski said.

The new safety models and computer codes will be tested on one particular Generation-IV nuclear reactor type, called a sodium-cooled fast reactor. SFRs, like the reactors described by Paul, could help decrease waste materials. Using the toxic leftovers already produced by today's nuclear power plants as a source of fuel, SFRs could reduce the country's stockpile of radioactive waste.

Another important element of reactor research lies in its potential to reduce overhead costs, said Mujid Kazimi, director of the Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Nuclear gives you an energy source that requires a lot of upfront costs," Kazimi told UPI, referring to the large amount of money needed to construct nuclear facilities. "But it runs on a fairly cheap fuel source once it's online."

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Civil Nuclear Energy Science, Technology and News
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News