21st Century Science & Technology Spring2009 21

Whilepolicymakers inWashington trytodeterminehowaninfusionofFed-eralfundsshouldbevectoredtoward

aneconomicrecovery,certainfundamentalprin-ciplesmustbeatthebasisfordecisionmaking.

Atthepresenttime,noattempttopulltheU.S.bankingsystemoutofabottomlessbankrupt-cywillbesuccessfulwithoutareturntotheU.S.Federalbudgettocapitalbudgetingrules.Allreorganizationofbankruptinstitutionsmustbepremisedonthatgeneralrule.Thismeansthat

Stimulate The Economy:Build New Nuclear Plants!by Marsha Freeman

Figure 1READY SITES FOR 28 NEW

NUCLEAR PLANTS, AT 17 CURRENT NUCLEAR POWER LOCATIONS

The current 104 U.S. nuclear plants, with sites for new plants indicated.

Source: Nuclear Energy Institute

Nuclear power is essential for the United States to recover from

the ongoing breakdown crisis and become economically

productive again.

Areva

“Shovel ready”: Two of the sites at existing nuclear plants where new plants can be built. Above, Calvert Cliffs in Maryland, where UniStar Nuclear Energy has proposed to build a third nuclear plant. Above right, the Callaway Plant in Mis-souri, where AmerenUE plans to build a second plant.

Areva

NPCIL

Nuclear plants are the most capital-intensive investments made in the utility sector, and they produce millions of times more power in terms of energy flux density than any other power source. Here Units 5 and 6 of Nuclear Power Corpora-tion of India Ltd.’s Rajasthan nuclear power plant under con-struction in Rajasthan state.

22 Spring2009 21st Century Science & Technology

assetswhichmeetthestandardforcharterednationalorstatebankswillbeprotectedasifGlass-Steagallruleshadbeenstillineffect.

Afterthefinancialsectorisputthroughbankruptcyreorgani-zation,andthefancifulfinancialinstrumentscommonlyknownas“toxicwaste”areputtooneside,soastomakenofurtherclaimonthegoodfaithandcreditoftheUnitedStates,thena-tioncanreturntoitsConstitutionaldutytoinitiateinternalim-provements,inordertopromotethegeneralwelfare.

Itisnecessarytoensurethatthebasicneedsofthepopulationare met, through short-term measures, such as moratoria onhousing foreclosures, extended unem-ploymentbenefits,andbroadenedhealthcareinsurance,andthatbankruptstatescontinue to provide basic services fortheircitizens.

But economic growth will dependupontrillionsofdollarsofFederalinvest-mentthatamelioratetheimmediatesitu-ationby laying the basis for the long-term increased productivity of the economy,asawhole.Itisnotaquestionofsimplycreatingjobs,butincreasingthecapital-intensityoftheeconomy,andraisingtheproductive level of the nation’s work-force.Thisisthefunctionofinvestmentsinbasiceconomicinfrastructure.

Therewillbenoeconomicrecovery,orgrowth,withoutamassiveexpansionandupgradingof thenation’senergy supplyanddistributionsystem.Contraryto“pop-ularopinion,”whichhasbeenshapedbyscam artists like T. Boone “Windbag”Pickens,and“green” ideologues likeAlGore,onlyamassiveexpansionofnucle-

ar energy can provide the quality andquantity of energy that a 21st Centuryeconomyrequires.

Although thefirst tentative stepshavebeen takenbyelectricutilities to restartthe construction of new nuclear powerplants,withmorethantwodozenreactorlicenseapplicationsfiledwiththeNucle-ar Regulatory Commission, this “renais-sance”innuclearpowerwillnotmateri-alize without a Federally directed“stimulus.” Similarly, the disappearanceoftheU.S.nuclearmanufacturingindus-tryhasbeguntobereversed,butthere-constitutionofanuclear industry,basedonthemostmodernpowerplantdesignsandadvancedmanufacturingtechniques,willnothappenwithoutanationallydi-rectedeffort.

Fordecades,themass-productionautoindustry,anditscomponentmanufactur-ers,createdoneoutofeverythirteenin-dustrialjobsintheUnitedStates.Thiswasthereservoirofthenation’smachinetooldesignandindustrialengineering talent.

Theindustry,whichnowliesinruin,mustberetooledandmo-bilizedtorecreateanuclearmanufacturingindustry.

Forthepastthreeyears,theCongress,ledbymis-leadershipNancyPelosiandhersupportingcastofAnglo/Dutch/WallStreetfinanciers, sabotaged the initiatives by Lyndon LaRouche, tobankruptandreorganizethebankingsystem,andredirectcred-ittoretooltheauto/machinetoolindustry.

LaRouchehascalledforthecreationofaFederalcorporationtoassume,employ,andexpandtheidledportionofthemachinetoolandautomanufacturingindustry,nottoproducemorecars,

Areva

The core of a nuclear reactor. Today, the United States has to import large nuclear com-ponents like this one, because the nuclear manufacturing industry here has all but shut down.

Areva

A new reactor vessel head, built by the French company Framatome for Virginia’s North Anna nuclear plant, as it is loaded for air transport in 2003.

21st Century Science & Technology Spring2009 23

buthigh-speedrailandmagnetically levitated(maglev) transport systems, advanced nuclearpower plants, desalination plants, and watercontrolandnavigationinfrastructure.OnJanu-ary4,hedescribeditasa“50-year,$1trillion-a-yeartechnologyandmachinetoolmission.”

Why a ‘Stimulus’ Is NeededThereisnopossibilitythatthedozensofnu-

clearpowerplantsthatneedtobestartedimme-diately,willbebuiltwithoutFederalsupport.

Contrarytowidespreadmiseducationofthepublicduringtherecent40years,therecanbenorecoveryoftheU.S.economyfromitspresentlyongoingbreakdownwithoutacapital-inten-sivemodewhichplacesheavyemphasisontheincludedroleofnuclearpowerinstallations.

Theelectricutilityindustryisthemostcapital-intensivesectorof theU.S.economy,andnuclearpowerplantsare themostcapitalintensiveinvestmentsmadeintheutilitysector.Nuclearreactionsproducethemostenergy-denseformofenergy;thou-sands-foldmoredensethanso-calledrenewables.1Toproduceusableenergyfromfissionreactions,requireshighlyskilledla-bor for theconstructionand thenoperationof theplant,andhigh-quality nuclear-certified materials and components.Themajorityofthecostofnuclearenergyistheconstructionoftheplant.Becausetheamountofenergy-densefuelusedisminimal

�. For details on energy flux density comparisons, see Laurence Hecht, “The Astounding High Cost of ‘Free’ Energy,” http://www.2�stcenturysciencetech.com/Articles %202008/Energy_cost.pdf.

comparedtoanyfossilfuel,theoperatingcostsaremodest.

Today, utilities planning to build new nuclearplantsdonothavebillionsofdollarsof cashonhand for this investment; theymust raisecapital,anditisWallStreetwhichsetsthetermsbywhichcompaniescanborrowmoney.Highinterestratesonborrowedcapitalcanputnuclearpowerplantcostsoutofreach.

OnDec.9,2008,documentssenttotheNuclearRegulatoryCommissionrevealedthattheTennes-seeValleyAuthority (TVA)estimated that theup-dated cost of building two new nuclear powerplantswasinarangeof$9.9to$17.5billion.Thiswasmore than double theoriginalcostestimate,largelybecauseoflastyear’sartificiallycreatedhy-perinflationaryriseinthepriceofsteel,concrete,metalandcopperwiring,andothermaterials.

RespondingtoqueriesanddisbelieffromTVA’scustomersthattheywouldhavetobeartheburdenofthatinflatedcost,TerryJohnson,aTVAspokes-

man, had a proposal onhow to lower it. He ex-plained that if the TVAbuiltthenewplantswith-out having to pay interest on a loan, they wouldcost$4billionto$5bil-lion per unit, or abouthalf.

LastJune,theaccount-ingfirmErnst&Youngre-leased research that hadbeen commissioned bythe British government,which similarly foundthatthecostoffinancingconstructionofanewnu-clear plant amounts to

about55 percentofthefinalcostofelectricity.Bringdowntheinterestrate,andthecostcanbecutinhalf.

Ascommercialcredithasbeenallbutfrozen,interestrateshaverisen,puttingafurtherstrainonelectricutilityinvestments.OnDec.17,2008,itwasreportedthattheVirginiaElectricandPowerCompanypaidaninterestrateof8.875percenttosell$700millionof30-yearbonds,whichwasupfrom6.35percenttheyearbefore.Thisriseininterestratesaddshundredsofmil-lionsofdollarstoanynuclearpowerplantcost.

Thesolution is tocreateaFederallycharteredcorporation,whichwillextendlong-termcredit,withamaximal2percentinterestrate,forthemostefficientconstructionofnewnuclearplants.Itisnotimportanthowmuchthesepowerplantscost,perse;itiscriticalthattheygetbuilt.

Asthefinancialsystemhasimploded,ithasbecomelessandlesspossibleforU.S.utilitiestogainaccesstocreditat any cost.Thiscreditcrisishasbecomesosevere,thatlastyear,theJapa-nesegovernmentwasaskedbytheSecretaryoftheU.S.Depart-mentofEnergytostudythepossibilityofusingtheresourcesoftheJapanBankforInternationalCooperationandNipponEx-

Japan Steel Works

A nuclear pressure vessel component at Japan Steel Works. JSW produces more than 80 per-cent of the heavy forgings needed for nuclear power plants, and there is a four-year waiting list for its forgings. Pictured is the 80-ton bottom “petal” of a reactor pressure vessel.

Japan Steel Works

The main cylinder of a JSW steel forging press, which weighs 77 tons.

24 Spring2009 21st Century Science & Technology

portandInvestmentInsurancetosupportconstructionofnucle-arplantsintheUnitedStates!

Tomakemattersworse,utilityrevenueshavebeendeclining,alongwiththeproductiveeconomyasawhole.Housesthatgointoforeclosurenolongeruseelectricity.Nordoemptyfacto-ries.Themillionsofpeoplewhohavelosttheirjobshavecutbackontheiruseofenergy,totrytosavemoney.

Peoplewhoarestillemployed,orstillreceivingtheirpensionorSocialSecuritychecks,havealsohadtocutback.Overthefirsthalfof2008,throughpurespeculativemanipulation,pri-maryenergycostsspiraledoutofcontrol.Utilitiesraisedratesinordertorecoverthehyperinflatedcoststheywerepayingnaturalgasandcoalsuppliers.

Asutilityratesincreased,anincreasingnumberofresidentialcustomerswentintoarrears,unabletokeepuptheirpayments.Attheendofthe2007-2008winterheatingseason,inApriloflastyear,almost40 million residentialconsumersheldnearly$8.7 billioninpast-dueutilityaccounts.AsurveybytheNation-alAssociationofRegulatoryUtilityCommissionersreportedthatincalendaryear2007,8.7millionresidentialconsumershadtheirelectricityornaturalgasserviceterminated,duetonon-paymentofbills.

Nothing Smart About ‘Smart Grid’Thecapital investment that isurgentlyrequired to increase

generatingcapacity,moveintonext-generationhightechnologysystems,andincreasethecapacityoftransmissionlines,isgrind-ingtoahalt.

While theCongressional economic “stimuluspackage” in-

cludesfundingforwhatisdescribedasa“smart”electricgrid,donotmistake this so-called“modernization” forwhat is re-quired.This“smartgrid”wouldruntimebackwards—to“re-en-gineer”thegridtoaccommodatesmall,inefficient,unreliable,andintermittent“renewables”projects,suchaswindpower,so-larenergy,andbiomass.Sucha“redesign”ofthegridwillin-creaseinstabilityinthepowersupply,andlowerthereliabilityofourtransmissionnetwork.

TheapplicationofInternet-likecommunicationandcontroltechnologies,toutedaspartofthe“hightechnology”thrustofthestimulusplan,issimplyawayforconsumerstopolicethem-selves, to“adjust theirenergyuse,”meaningcutback,whentheyseetheyareusingmoreenergythantheywillbeabletopayfor.Other“automaticcontrol”systemswouldallowtheutilitytoshutoffelectricitydeliverywhendemandistoohigh,which,ac-cordingtotheenvironmentalists,isthealternativetobuildingnewpowerplantstomeetdemand.

Theelectricgriddoesneedtobemodernizedandexpanded.Theincorporationoftechnologiessuchassuperconductingca-ble,wheretransmissioncapacityisincreasedmultiple-fold,isbeingdoneonlyonasmall,pilotbasis.Thisisthekindofleapintransmissiontechnology,whichwouldcreateareal“21stCen-tury”grid.

A Federal Corporation to Rebuild IndustryWereallofthenecessarystepstakentocreatethepolicyand

credittojumpstartnuclearpowerplantconstruction,thenuclearrenaissancewouldstillbestalled.Atthepresenttime,thereisnotthemanufacturingcapacitytobuildmorethanahandfulofnewnuclearpowerplantsperyearworldwide.

Fornearly30years,nonewnuclearpowerplanthasbeenor-deredandcompletedintheUnitedStates.Fromthemid-1970sthroughthemid-1980s,morethan100nuclearpowerplantsonorderwerecancelled.Today’s104operatingU.S.nuclearplantsarenotevenapaleshadowofthe“2000by2000”plantsthatthenuclearcommunityexpectedtobeinoperationbytheturnofthecentury,nineyearsago.

Bythemid-1980s,theU.S.nuclearmanufacturingindustryhad all but disappeared.Today, not evenonenuclear powerplant could be built in the United States, without importingsome of the largest and most important components fromabroad.

Butthisisnotjustacrisisfacingthiscountry.ExcludingRus-sia, which builds complete nuclear plants indigenously, andChinaandIndia,whichareconstructingthefactoriestoalsobeabletodothat,therestoftheworlddependsuponasmallhand-fulofmajorsuppliers,which,withtheupsurgeinordersglob-ally,isnowstretchedtothelimitofitscapacity.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Dale Klein ob-servedinanOct.27,2008speechontheneedtorebuildthenuclearmanufacturingindustry:“Wecan’tmakealivingcuttingoneanother’shair.Atsomepoint,you’vegottomakethings.Youcan’tbeatotalserviceeconomy.”Inthe1970sand1980s,heexplained,therewereabout500U.S.companieswithwhatiscalledanuclearstamp.Thiscertifies that theymeet thestrictstandardstomanufacturenuclearplantcomponents.Todaywehave100suchcompanies.

Asthemostdramaticexample,JapanSteelWorks(JSW)istheonlycompanyintheworld,outsideofRussia,thatmakesthe

Brookhaven National Laboratory

To be really “smart,” the U.S. electric grid needs modernization with advanced technologies, like superconducting cable. Here, Brookhaven National Laboratory researchers (from left) Vy-acheslav Solovyov, Tom Muller, and Masaki Suenega, who de-veloped a high-temperature superconducting cable that uses less wire but conducts five times more power than traditional copper cable. The cables, now being tested in Long Island’s power grid, use the so-called first generation superconducting composite wires, made of a bismuth-calcium-copper-oxygen/silver compound.

21st Century Science & Technology Spring2009 25

massiveforgingsneededforfull-sizednuclearpressurevessels,andotherlargecomponents.

Theultra-heavynuclear forgings,up to600 tons inweight,whichhousethenuclearreactorcore,arethenmachined,whichisnowdoneinahandfulofplants,suchasthatatChalon/SaintMarcelinnorthernFrance,ofnucleargiant,Areva.Currently,JSWhasafour-yearwaitinglistforvesselforgings.Nuclearvendorsplanningtobuildnewplantsarenowinabiddingwartomakedown-paymentstoJSWinordertoreservetheirplaceinline.

Early lastyear, JSWannounceda$523mil-lionexpansionplan,todoubleitsforgingcapac-itybymid-2011.Thiswouldenableitannuallytoproduce8reactorpressurevessels,andasso-ciated components, such as steam generatorpartsandturbinemotorshafts.Attheendoflastyear, JSW announced a second, $314 millionexpansionphase,totriplecapacityto12unitsperyear.

Recognizing that JSW’s tripledcapacitywillnotcomeclosetomeetingtheglobalneed,andthatshortagesofothercomponentsarealmostassevere,anumberofcompaniesareplanningtoenter,orinsomecases,reenter,thenuclearsupplyindustry.

U.S. manufacturers which let their nuclearstampsexpirearerenewingtheircertificates.Forexample,ChicagoBridgeandIron(CB&I),inthepastbuilt75percentofthenuclearpowerplantcontainmentvessels in theUnitedStates, andmorethan130worldwide,aswellas41pres-surevesselsfornuclearplants.Lastyear,CB&Ireneweditsnuclearstamp.CB&Iannouncedin

Octoberthatithadbeenawardedacon-tractbyWestinghousetobuildtwocon-tainmentvessels.Itplanstostartfabrica-tionoftheWestinghouseunitsthisyear,withcompletionscheduledfor2014and2015.

Future nuclear powerhouses—Chinaand India—are preparing to enter thelarge forgings industry. China’s HarbinBoiler Works, Dongfang Boiler Group,andShanghaiElectricGroupare in thiscategory. India’sLarsen&Toubrohopestoexportforgingsinthefuture,inaddi-tiontoservingtheIndiandomesticnucle-armarket.

South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Indus-triesannouncedlastMaythatithadcom-pleted itsprogram tobecomeself-suffi-cient in nuclear power technology, anationalprojectbegunin2001tomanu-facture plants independently. A monthlater, Doosan signed a contract withWestinghouse to supply equipment fornewreactorsintheUnitedStates.Italsoannouncedplanstospend$395millionbytheendof2011toincreaseproduc-tioncapacityforcastingsandforgings.

SheffieldForgemaster,inEngland,wonacontractonSept.2,2008toproducenuclear-gradesteelcomponentsfornewWest-inghousereactorsthatarebeingbuiltinChina.Twomonthslat-er,WestinghouseorderedcomponentsfornewreactorsthatarebeingplannedforNorthandSouthCarolina.Now,theBritishgovernmentisconsideringa$45millionfinancialpackageforSheffield,toenableittopurchasealargerpressandincreasethescopeofnuclearcomponentsthatitcanmanufacture.

Sincea1722decreeofPetertheGreat,manufacturingplants

TVO

Steam turbine at TVO’s Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in Finland. Olkiluoto is a Swedish-built boiling water nuclear reactor, where steam goes directly from the reactor to the turbine.

Areva

Tubing for a nuclear steam generator being manufactured at the Chalon Saint Marcel plant in France. Production capacity for smaller nuclear components must be geared up worldwide.

26 Spring2009 21st Century Science & Technology

thatarepartoftheIzhoragrouphaveproducedpartsforships for theRussianNavy.Today, theUralmash-IzhoraGroup, (OMZ), or United Machine Building Plants, isRussia’sleadingcompanyfortheproductionofspecialtysteelsandequipmentandmachinesforthenuclearandotherheavyindustries.

Overthepastdecades,OMZhassuppliedreactorcon-tainmentvesselsformorethan60plantsinRussia,coun-triesoftheformerSovietUnion,India,China,andIran.Itispro-ducingthecontainmentvesselsforthefirstfloatingnuclearplantsintheworld,whicharebeingbuiltinRussia.

Morethanayearago,OMZembarkeduponaplantomod-ernizeandexpand itsmanufacturingcapabilities.Thatfive-yearplan,costinghundredsofmillionsofdollars,willdoubleitscapacity,allowingRussiatomeetitsownambitiousnucle-arbuildplans,tocommissionatleastonenewnuclearplantper year,aswellastoexportreactorsglobally.

ForgesintheCzechRepublicareconsideringretooling,tobeabletoproducepressurevesselforgingsintwoyears.AdditionalJapaneseheavyindustrygiants,suchasMitsubishiHeavyIndus-tries,areplanningexpansions.

As impressiveassomeof theseprojectsmaybe, theyareadropinthebucketcomparedtowhatisnecessary.Wemustbuildnewnuclearpowerplantsasquicklyaswecan,everywhereintheworld.2Thiscannotbedonewithoutamobilizationofthetal-entandpotentialindustrialcapabilitiesoftheUnitedStates.

Auto to NuclearInthe1970s,theUnitedStateshadanextensivenuclearin-

dustry,inbreadthanddepth,withthecapacitytoworkonmorethan 100 nuclear plants simultaneously, in various stages of

2. Massachusetts State Nuclear Engineer James Muckerheide gives some of the dimensions of what’s needed in “How to Build 6,000 Nuclear Plants by 2050,” http://www.2�stcenturysciencetech.com/Articles%202005/ Nuclear2050.pdf

planning, engineering, design, and construction.Thatmagni-tudeofcapabilitymustberecreatedasquicklyaspossible.

Fouryearsago,LyndonLaRoucheoutlinedhowtheauto/ma-chinetoolindustryshouldberetooledtobeabletomanufacturedesperatelyneededinfrastructure.ConsideringthatsixmonthsafterthestartofWorldWarII,autoparts-producingandassem-blyplantsweremanufacturingtanks,airplanes,andammuni-tion,thisisabsolutelydoable.

Since2006,morethan30millionsquarefeetofmachinetoolandmanufacturingcapacityintheautoandrelatedindustrieshavebeenidled.Morethan300,000jobshavebeenlost.Itisclearthatreopeningthoseplantstoproducemillionsmorecarsisfolly.Asthereservoirofmuchoftheengineering,design,andskilledlaborresourcesoftheUnitedStates,theautoandma-chinetoolindustriesmustberetooledtotaketheleadinrebuild-ingenergyinfrastructure.

Theapplicationoftheskillsofexistingmachinetoolshopstodevelopthemachinestoconverttheautofactoriestonuclearmanufacturingisthefirststep.Theproductionofnuclearpowercomponentshasbeenmadesimplerbythemovefromone-of-a-kindnuclearplants,typicalofthe1970sand1980s,tostandard-izeddesignsandmodularconstructiontechniques.

Modular production is the approach being used in Japan,whereon-siteconstructiontimehasbeenreducedto36months.Integratedmodulesaremassproducedinfactoriesandtrans-ported to theconstructionsite,where theyareassembled. InEurope, nuclear companies expect that 18 months could bechoppedoffthestandardconstructiontimeifmodularmethods,

LARGE-VOLUME COMPONENTS FOR A NEW ADVANCED NUCLEAR PLANT

(1,200-1,500 Megawatt range)

TABLE 1

Large-Volume Components for aNew Advanced Nuclear Plant(1200-1500 MW range)

Equipment Number (Range) Comments

Pumps, large 71-100

Pumps, small 80-484

Tanks 49-150 from 600-150,000 pounds

Heat exchangers 47-104 All sizes, types, material2,100-250,000 pounds

Compressors, 12-26vacuum pumps

Fans 61-123 600-45,000 pounds

Damper/louvers 730-1,170

Cranes and hoists 25-50

Diesel generators 2 10 MWe

Prefabricated 64-133 Preassembled packagesequipment including mechanicalmodules equipment, piping, valves,

instruments, wiring, etc.

Instruments of all 1,852-3,440kinds

Valves of all kinds 9,633-17,891

Source: U.S. Job Creation Due to Nuclear Power Resurgence in the United States, Volume 2, page A-125, November 2004, Idaho National Engineering and Environment Laboratory.

Areva

A reactor coolant pump on the production line at France’s Jeumont Plant. Each plant requires 70-100 pumps, which will require factories for mass production.

21st Century Science & Technology Spring2009 27

similartothoseusedtobuildoffshoreoilplatforms,areusedfornuclearplants.

InAugust2008,WestinghouseandShawsignedaletterofin-tenttocreateajointventure,calledGlobalModularSolutionsLLC,forthefabricationandassemblyofmodulesforWesting-houseAP1000nuclearreactors.TheimprovedAP1000hasbeendesignedtobebuiltwithapproximately600suchstandardizedmodules.ThefactorywillbebuiltatthePortofLakeCharles,Louisiana,toproducestructural,piping,andequipmentmod-ules.Itisscheduledtobeginoperatinginthethirdquarterofthisyearandwillemploy1,400people.Theplantwillsupporttheconstructionoftworeactorsperyear.Thismodularapproachisperfectlysuitedtoaretooledauto/machinetoolindustry.

Therearenumerouscomponentsrequiredfornuclearpowerplantsthataresuitableforlarge-scalemassproduction,pre-assembly into components, and then assembly into modularunits.TheTableindicatessomeoftheselarge-volumecompo-nents,includingprefabricatedequipmentmodules.Individualmodules might comprise piping, electrical equipment units,structuralelements,andevenready-builtstairsandplatformsforon-siteassembly.

Smaller Reactors for Smaller GridsManyofthenewnuclearplantswillbeproducedfordeploy-

mentinnationsthatdonothavelargeconcentrationsofpopula-tion,orin-placeelectricgridsystems.Large-scale,1,000-mega-wattplantswillnotbesuitablethere.Next,orfourth-generationreactors,willbedesignedinavarietyofsizes,andbyoperatingat higher temperatures than today’s conventional plants, willbringdesalinationandotherbenefitstopopulations,inadditiontoelectricity.

ProfessorAndrewKadak,at theNuclearScienceandEngi-neeringDepartmentattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnolo-gy(MIT),hassupervisedastudentproject,begunin1998,todevelopaconceptualdesignforahigh-temperaturepebblebednuclearreactorthatcouldbeeconomicallyproducedinsmall

sizesfordevelopingnations.Thestudentshavefocussednotonlyonthenucleartechnol-

ogy,butalsohowtobuildthemmosteconomically.IntheMITmodulardesign,componentmanufacturerswouldprovideallcomponents,pipingconnections,electricpowerconnections,and electronics to fit in a standard steel “space frame.”Theframeswouldthanbeassembledattheplantsite,somecompo-nentsusinga“lego-like”assemblyprocesstoboltthemtogether.Inaddition,modulescouldbereplacedratherthanhavingpartsrepaired,greatlyreducingmaintenancecostsanddowntime.(SeeFigure2).

Inthisstudy,theconstraintonsizeintransportingmoduleswasacriticalfactorinthedesign.Inordertobeabletodelivercomponentsforthe120-megawattreactor,notonlybybarge,butby truckor rail,anupper limitwas imposed,of200,000poundsweight,withmaximumdimensionsof8×12×60feet.

Figure 2MODULAR CONSTRUCTION FOR SMALL PEBBLE BED REACTORS

Standardized steel “space frames” (below right) are used in this MIT design, each con-taining various components for new nuclear plants. The frame modules are then attached on site, bolted together, and plugged in, dramatically reducing construction time.

Source: Courtesy of Prof. Andrew Kadak, MIT

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

A nuclear steam generator in transport. Mitsubishi delivered two replacement steam generators for the San Onofre nuclear plant in California in February, each weiging 580 metric tons and housing about 10,000 heat transfer tubes.

28 Spring2009 21st Century Science & Technology

Fortheircurrentreactordesign,27modulesarerequired,eachofwhichisrailandtrucktransportable.

The Manpower ShortageA reconstructed nuclear industry will face the immediate

problemofalackofskilledmanpower,fromnuclearengineerstoconstructionworkers,welders,andelectricians.Atthepeakof construction, approximately 4,000 workers are needed ateach site, and each new plant requires 400-700 employees.Buildingabout35newreactorswillcreateabout38,000jobsinthenuclearmanufacturingindustry.

Over thenextfiveyears,35percentof thecurrentnuclearworkforcewillbeeligibletoretire.So,inadditiontothetensofthousandsofnewworkersrequiredfortheexpansionofplantconstruction andoperation,more than20,000areneededjusttoreplacethosewhowillleavethework-force.

Tostarttomeetthedemandforskilledjobs,MarkAyers, president of the Building and ConstructionTrades Department of theAFL-CIO, has proposedthatthenuclearindustry“setupon-sitetrainingcen-ters,”thattheunionitselfwouldbuild.“Wewouldrecruit from the local community and help trainthemtobecraftsmen,”hestated.TheBuildingTradesalreadyspend$800millionperyearforjobtraining,Ayers reported, and Federal “stimulus” supportwouldspeedtheprocess.

‘Shovel Ready’TheCongressisnecessarilyconcernedwithinitiat-

ingprogramsthat“stimulate”theeconomy,asquick-lyaspossible.Butthisshouldnotbeanexcusetoputpeopletoworkdoingless-than-uselessnon-produc-tivejobs,suchascleaningoffsolarenergyreflectors.

Whilemajormodesoftransportationmustmovefromliquidfuel—incars, trucks,andairplanes—toelectricsystems,suchasrail,maglevtransport,andelectriccars,astheDetroit NewsobservedinaJan.13 editorial: “the nation remains clueless about

where the electricity will come from.”The editorialaddsthat“anyonewhothinkstheadditionaldemandcan be met solely by alternative energy sources—windmills,etc.—isdelusional.”

Therearetwodozennewnuclearplantsthatcouldbebuiltquicklyonwhatarecalledbrownfieldsites.Thesearesiteswherethereisatleastonereactorinoperation, and where additional reactors had beenplanned, but were never built. Construction couldstartalmostimmediately,becauseunlikenewgreen-field sites,muchof the transport, energy, andman-powerinfrastructureisalreadythere.

Therecommendationtoimmediatelystartplantcon-structiononthese28siteswasmadeintheJune17,2005issueofEIR,andwasreiteratedrecentlybynucle-arengineerJosephSomsel,inanarticlepublishedintheJan.23,2009issueofAmerican Thinker.Infrastruc-tureinvestments,hepointsout,greatlyincreaseeco-nomicproductivity,whichshouldbethecriterionuponwhich“stimulus”investmentsaremade.

Allthatisneeded,hesuggests,is“tweaking”currentregula-tions for limited work authorizations.This would mean thatcompaniescouldstart“turningdirt”withinacoupleofmonths,astheystartsitepreparation.

While construction begins on the first few dozen nuclearplants,anApollo-stylemobilizationtorebuildAmerica’ssteeland specialty steel industries, machine tool capabilities, andauto-relatedplusadditionalmanufacturingfacilities,usingthemostadvancedtechnologies,mustgetunderway. Itwill takesometime,andtrillionsofdollarsofcredit,torestorethephysi-caleconomytoapathwayofgrowth.Thelongerwewaittostart,themoredifficultitisgoingtobe.

This is an expanded version of an article that appeared in Ex-ecutiveIntelligenceReview, Feb. 13, 2009.

NRC

Nuclear manpower demand: In the next five years, more than one-third of the U.S. nuclear workforce will reach retirement age, which means that in addition to the tens of thousands of workers needed to expand the nuclear industry, another 20,000 nuclear workers will be needed to replace the re-tiring workers. Here, Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Dale Klein (center) visiting the control room at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

Doosan Heavy Industries

This nuclear reactor vessel, built by Doosan Heavy Industries in South Ko-rea, is for the Qinshan phase 2 nuclear power station in the Chinese prov-ince of Zhejiang. South Korea now has the capability to manufacture nu-clear plants independently, and is ready to export.