Energy Law

6 – Nuclear Power

Fall 2014Oct 07, 2014

Alan Palmiter

Not for distribution- for study purposes only

Topic roadmap

1. Nuclear power in energy mix– Compared to other sources (inc renewables)– History of nuclear power

2. How nuclear power is produced– Uranium mining / processing– Uranium as fuel source– Spent nuclear fuel

3. Regulation of nuclear power– NRC permitting– State role– Storage of nuclear waste

4. Future of nuclear power– Streamlined licensing– Using nuclear wastge– Nuclear fusion

1. Nuclear power in energy mix

6

Energy Flow, 2011 (Quadrillion Btu) Energy Flow, 2013 (Quadrillion Btu)

6

http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/pecss_diagram.cfm

Energy Sources Uses

Source: Andra Goodman & Michael Walker, E3 Ventures, Benchmarking Air Emissions

Nuclear power in electricity mix

Source: EIA, Nuclear Power – Short-term Outlook for Electricity

Source: EIA, Monthly Energy Review Table 7.2a (March 2012)

Source: World Nuclear Ass’n, “Nuclear Power in World” (2012)

2. Nuclear power production / waste storage

Source: Pennsylvania State University Radiation Science and Engineering Center

SourceChemCases, Nuclear Chemistry – Uranium Production

Click for 3:05 video

Source: World Nuclear Ass’n, “Basics”

FACTOID

A single uranium fuel pellet contains about as much energy as • 500 cubic meters of natural gas• 1 ton of coal• 150 gallons of gasoline

Source: National Energy Institute, “Nuclear Statistics”

Source: Nevada Div Env Protec

Click for 2:10 video

Click for 2:14 video

Click for 2:44 video

1. True or false? It is not at all relevant that Homer Simpson, the most famous nuclear facility operator, is now 60 years old.

2. Which is false – a. As of 2013, there are 104

commercial nuclear reactors in the United States at 65 nuclear power plants

b. Since 1990, the share of the US electricity supply provided by nuclear power generation has averaged about 20%

c. France generates more electricity from nuclear power than the United States

3. Which is false --a. About one third of a reactor core

is changed out every 12 to 24 months

b. More than 50% of the uranium loaded into a reactor is consumed in nuclear reactions

c. As of 2002, over 165,000 spent fuel assemblies were stored in about 70 interim storage pools throughout the United States.

4. True or false? South Carolina is one of the top five states for nuclear generation of electricity, ahead of North Carolina. EIA, “Nuclear Use”

Pop QuizNuclear Power - Production

Answers: 1-T (aging workforce) / 2-B (1996) / 3-B (4%/ 4-T

Pros and cons – nuclear power

Pros: Reduce greenhouse gas

emissions Cheaper to operate

(perhaps lowest production costs)

Stable generation source (very high load capacity)

Not subject to variable fuel costs

Cons: High health and

environmental risk: TMI, Chernobyl, Fukushima

Cost-overruns: “cheap dreams, costly realities” + taxpayer subsidy [UCS]

High levels of water “heat pollution”

No solution for nuclear waste: on-site, national storage facility

3. Nuclear power regulationMining• Office of Surface Mining, DOI• Individual states • NRC (leach recovery)

Processing• NRC (milling + processing)• Agreement states

Power production• NRC permit• State PUC

Nuclear waste disposal• NRC permit• DOE – national waste site

Nuclear fi

ssion th

eorized (1

938)

Atomic Energy A

ct (1954)

Three Mile Isl

and accident (1

979)

Fuku

shima disa

ster

(2

011)

Energy Policy Act

(2005)

Chernobyl disa

ster (1

986)

Eisenhower “A

toms for P

eace” speech (1

953)

1940 20001980 20201960

First a

tomic bombs (1

945)

Nuclear p

ower plant b

oom (1965-75)

Iraq nucle

ar weapons p

rogram (1991)

First U

S nuclear g

enerating plant (1957)

International Atomic E

nergy Agency (IA

EA) (1956)

Nuclear N

on-Proliferation Tr

eaty (1968)

Price-Anderso

n Act (1957)

NRC – Part 52 (2

008)

PG&E v. Sta

te Energy Resource

s Comm’n (U

S 1983)

Nuclear W

aste Policy

Act (1982)

DOE blocks Yu

cca M

tn (2010)

Nuclear power regulationTimeline

NRC licensing

Construction permit

Operating license

Judicial review

Comb. op. license

Early site permit

Design certification

Part 50 Part 52

1. True or false? The nuclear power industry is insured against the costs of nuclear accidents under a government-mandated insurance scheme, up to $375 million per plant and $12.6 billion overall.

2. Which is false– a. State regulation of nuclear

power radiological safety is preempted by AEA

b. State tort law (punitive $ and IIED) is not preempted by AEA

c. States may reject DOE siting decisions concerning nuclear waste storage sites

3. As of 2013, which is false --a. The NRC has one pending

applications for a new nuclear reactor

b. The NRC has 28 pending applications for new nuclear reactors

c. The next generation of nuclear reactors is expected to come online in 2016-17

4. True or false? High-level radioactive waste is stored in water pools and dry casks, under NRC regulations.

Pop QuizNuclear Power - Regulation

Answers: 1-T / 2-C / 3-A (last approved ‘96) / 4-T

4. Future of nuclear power

Click for 9:07 video

Click for 7:12 video

Click for 4:02 video[reprocessing]

Click for 2:14 video

Energy federalism

Nuclear power Federal State

Production NRC licensing State utility rules

Mining DOI (Office of Surface Mining)NRC (underground recovery) States

Disposal NRC (high and low level)EPA - Yucca Mountain (NIMBY) State (siting decision)

Reprocessing Currently bannedDOE (Blue Ribbon Panel) None

Class Hypo

The US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is considering legislation to subsidize nuclear energy.

What kind of nuclear energy should be subsidized? Outline the congressional testimony for your group.

Group 1: Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Group 2: Union of Concerned Scientists

Group 3: TerraPower, Inc.

Nuclear power subsidies:

• Price-Anderson Act of 1957 (federal insurance for accidents)

• Publicly-owned utilities (low-cost financing)

• Energy Policy Act of 2005 (federal loan guarantees)

• Depletion allowance for uranium mining

See UCS, “Nuclear Power: Still Not Viable Without Subsidies” (2011)

The end