Energy Law 6 – Nuclear Power

1. Energy Law 6 – Nuclear Power Fall 2013 Oct 08, 2013 Alan Palmiter Brian Bowman Not for distribution- for study purposes only

2. 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

3. 1. Nuclear power in energy mix 6 Energy Flow, 2011 (Quadrillion Btu) http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/diagram1.cfm

4. Energy Sources Uses http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/pecss_diagram.cfm

5. Nuclear power in electricity mix Source: Andra Goodman & Michael Walker, E3 Ventures, Benchmarking Air Emissions

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

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

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

9. 2. Nuclear power production / waste storage Source: Pennsylvania State University Radiation Science and Engineering Center

10. SourceChemCases, Nuclear Chemistry – Uranium Production

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12. 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: World Nuclear Ass’n, “Basics”

13. Source: National Energy Institute, “Nuclear Statistics”

14. Source: Nevada Div EnvProtec

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17. True or false? It is not at all relevant that Homer Simpson, the most famous nuclear facility operator, is now 60 years old. Which is false – As of 2013, there are 104 commercial nuclear reactors in the United States at 65 nuclear power plants Since 1990, the share of the US electricity supply provided by nuclear power generation has averaged about 20% France generates more electricity from nuclear power than the United States Which is false -- About one third of a reactor core is changed out every 12 to 24 months Less than 50% of the uranium loaded into a reactor is consumed in nuclear reactions  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 Quiz Nuclear Power - Production Answers: 1-T (aging workforce) / 2-B (1996) / 3-B (4%/ 4-T

18. 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

19. 3. Nuclear power regulation • Mining • 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

20. Nuclear power regulation • Timeline International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (1956) Three Mile Island accident (1979) Eisenhower “Atoms for Peace” speech (1953) First US nuclear generating plant (1957) PG&E v. State Energy Resources Comm’n(US 1983) Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968) Nuclear power plant boom (1965-75) First atomic bombs (1945) Iraq nuclear weapons program (1991) Chernobyl disaster (1986) Nuclear fission theorized (1938) Nuclear Waste Policy Act (1982) Price-Anderson Act (1957) DOE blocks Yucca Mtn (2010) Atomic Energy Act (1954) Energy Policy Act (2005) NRC – Part 52 (2008) Fukushima disaster (2011) 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

21. NRC licensing Part 50 Part 52 Construction permit Early site permit Design certification Operating license Comb. op. license Judicial review

22. 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. Which is false– State regulation of nuclear power radiological safety is preempted by AEA State tort law (punitive $ and IIED) is not preempted by AEA States may reject DOE siting decisions concerning nuclear waste storage sites As of 2013, which is false -- The NRC has one pending applications for a new nuclear reactor The NRC has 28 pending applications for new nuclear reactors 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 Quiz Nuclear Power - Regulation Answers: 1-T / 2-C / 3-A (last approved ‘96) / 4-T

23. 4. Future of nuclear power Click for 9:07 video

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26. Class Hypo • 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 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.

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