4 Jul (NucNet): The US Department of Energy is putting the country at risk of falling behind China, Russia and other nations in developing a next generation nuclear plant (NGNP), the government’s fiscal watchdog has warned.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a report that the DOE risks missing a deadline to complete a prototype by 2021, as mandated by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
The report calls on the DOE to develop a strategy to proceed with Phase 2 of the NGNP project. Phase 2 would see the DOE develop a final design for a nuclear reactor prototype, apply for licences to build and operate the reactor technology, build the prototype, and begin operations. It was scheduled to be completed by 30 September 2021.
The report says: “Not deploying a prototype carries certain risks, including waning US influence in the safe operation of nuclear plants internationally and potential loss of certain knowledge and expertise.”
In 2011, the DOE told Congress it would not proceed with Phase 2 “until circumstances warranted a change in direction”. The GAO report says the project remains hindered by several barriers, including cost-share and site requirements, which stipulate that the reactor prototype be located at the Idaho National Laboratory.
The report says that building the reactor at INL foregoes the economic benefit of the reactor’s process heat because industries that could potentially use the process heat are not located near the laboratory. “If industry cannot realise an economic benefit from the prototype reactor, it is unlikely that industry would support the reactor being built at the Idaho National Laboratory,” the report says.
The GAO report is online: www.gao.gov/assets/670/664298.pdf
