1. U.S. Perspectives on Nuclear Energy Larry Brown
U.S. Department of Energy
“50 Years of Nuclear Energy –The Next 50 Years”
Obninsk, Russia
June 28, 2004

2. 50 years of Eisenhower’s Atoms For Peace vision
Nuclear Power: energy for decades to come
Clean, safe, reliable and sustainable energy
Essential for world peace, prosperity and
environmental integrity
In the U.S., forward looking nuclear energy
initiatives are ongoing
The U.S. encourages the expanded use of
peaceful nuclear energy while emphasizing
the essential need for robust safegaurds and
proliferation resistant measures
“Peaceful power from atomic energy is no dream of the future. That capability, already proved, is here now - today.”
- President Eisenhower
Speech to the United Nations,
December 8, 1953

3. U.S. energy policy promotes emission free energy that is sustainable and economically viable
Atmospheric CO2 concentration approaching a record level of 380 ppm
Tolerable levels estimated to be between 450 ppm and 750 ppm.
Quickly approaching a “carbon wall” crisis with unknown, perhaps irreversible, consequences.
Emission-free energy sources needed to meet the growing energy demand.
In the near future, nuclear power is the only large-scale technology that can compete with fossil fuels.
U.S. energy policy promotes the expansion of nuclear power while continuing research in “renewable energy” forms.

4. Current U.S. Nuclear Energy Infrastructure
Columbia (1)
Canyon (2)
Diablo
San Onofre (2)
Palo Verde (3)
Monticello
(1)
Prairie Island
(2)
Ft. Calhoun (1)
Cooper (1)
Wolf Creek (1)
Duane Arnold (1)
Callaway (1)
ANO (2)
Comanche Peak (2)
South Texas (2)
River Bend (1)
Waterford (1)
Point
Turkey
St. Lucie
Farley (2)
Hatch (2)
Vogtle (2)
Sequoyah (2)
Oconee
(3)
Catawba (2)
H. B. Robinson (1)
Summer (1)
McGuire (2)
Harris (1)
Brunswick (2)
Surry
Anna
North
Calvert Cliffs (2)
Hope Creek (1)
Salem (2)
Oyster Creek (1)
Millstone (2)
Pilgrim (1)
Seabrook (1)
Vermont
Yankee
FitzPatrick
Nine Mile Point (2)
Ginna (1)
Clinton (1)
La Salle (2)
Kewaunee
Point Beach
Palisades (1)
Cook (2)
Fermi (1)
Davis-Besse (1)
Perry (1)
Susquehanna
Peach Bottom
Three Mile Island (1)
Limerick (2)
Indian Point (2)
Quad-Cities (2)
Byron (2)
Braidwood (2)
Crystal
River
Grand Gulf
Browns
Ferry (3)
Watts Bar (1)
Valley
Beaver
Dresden (2)
103 Nuclear Power Plants
Totaling 97,018 MWe
36 Research and Test Reactors in operation at Laboratories and Universities
Coal
52%
Oil 3%
Gas
15%
Other 2%
Nuclear
19%
Hydro 9%
Source: EIA
Electricity Production
41%

5. Megatons to Megawatts: U.S. Progress on NPT Article VI commitments
Excess Weapons Material Disposition
HEU Disposition:
The U.S. has down blended >45 MTU of HEU to LEU for commercial LWR fuel fabrication. IAEA has verified down blending of >30 MTU of the total
Plutonium disposition:
U.S. and Russian Federation each plan to dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus weapon-grade plutonium by irradiating it as mixed oxide (MOX) fuel in nuclear reactors
Once in spent fuel form, the plutonium is converted to a form not readily usable in nuclear weapons, meeting the “Spent Fuel Standard”
U.S. and Russian plutonium disposition programs will proceed roughly in parallel
U.S. MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility is scheduled to begin construction at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina May 2005
We have evolved the repository design over the past decade as we have learned more about the site
We have a flexible program that responds to changing information and program needs. Our design process has produced a robust design concept that offers a great deal of operational flexibility by allowing us to adjust the period of ventillation, the amount of spent fuel that can be loaded into waste packages, and the spacing of packages in the emplacement drifts. This flexibility to implement either above- or below-boiling conditions will allow us to benefits from a greater understanding of uncertainties associated with thermal loading.
We believe that the Viability Assessment design was appropriate for the data on hand; however, we are now on the verge of moving to an even more robust design that will reduce uncertainties further.
Stepwise approaches for developing repositories are useful in allaying concerns about premature irreversible actions. Our site characterization activities and development of the repository is being conducted in a stepwise approach
We are designing a monitored geologic repository at Yucca Mountain that could give future generations the choice of closing and sealing the repository as early as allowable under NRC regulations, or of keeping it open and monitoring it for hundreds of years
Retrievability is a valuable feature, to accommodate uncertainties in repository performance and future societal changes. The candidate repository site at Yucca Mountain is unique in that it is in the unsaturated zone. It gives the opportunity for more flexibility with respect to closure, monitoring, and retrievability. A repository at Yucca Mountain can be designed such that the decision for future generations will be easier to make with respect to final closure, monitoring, or retrievability
Finally, we continue to evaluate more efficient approaches to construct the surface and subsurface facilities. This will allow us to spread out the high costs of construction

6. U.S. National Energy Policy encourages the expanded use of Nuclear Energy and improved Safeguards and Proliferation Resistance
“Nuclear energy is the second largest source of U.S. electricity generation and must remain a major component of our national energy policy in the years to come”
President’s Letter to Congress, February 15, 2002
President George W. Bush visits power plant, September, 2003
“…A new era awaits. It is an era of nuclear energy marked by … improved physical security and proliferation resistance… Meeting it will go a long way towards safeguarding each of our nations from the perils posed by those seeking to acquire dangerous nuclear materials.”
Secretary of Energy Abraham, Tokyo, September 2003
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham

7. Initiatives that promote the growth of nuclear energy
Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative
(AFCI)
- Recover energy value
- Reduce the inventory of civilian Pu
- Reduce the toxicity & heat of waste
Effective use of geologic disposal
Address issues of safeguards and proliferation resistance
2010 Initiative
- Explore new sites
- Develop business case
- Develop Generation III+ technologies
- Demonstrate new licensing process
Generation IV Initiative (GEN IV)
Improvements in
- safety & reliability
- proliferation resistance & physical protection
- economic competitiveness
- sustainability
Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI)
Develop technologies for economic,
commercial-scale generation of
hydrogen.

8. 2010 Initiative is aimed at paving the way toward new plants by breaking through the “next plant barrier”
Completed:
- Scoping studies for 2 commercial sites and 3 federal sites.
- Independent Business Case analysis which is the starting point for Congressional considerations of financial assistance.
Next step is to usher Generation III+ technologies through NRC design certification process.
Filed 3 early site permit (ESP) for license applicants. Approval expected mid-2006 for Virginia, Illinois, and Mississippi.
Next step is to demonstrate the “one-step licensing” process.

9. National Hydrogen Fuel Initiative sets a far-sighted vision towards an emission-free future
Conduct laboratory testing of candidate hydrogen production processes
Complete process improvements and scaling of thermochemical pilot plant to MW class
Complete design and initiate construction of two hydrogen production pilot plants - (200 kW) high temperature electrolysis plant and (500 kW) thermochemical plant
Complete designs and start construction of engineering scale hydrogen production systems
Begin operation of the initial pilot plants
Begin system optimization and scaling of thermochemical pilot plant
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2015
Water
Oxygen
Hydrogen
Heat O2
SO2
2H2O H2
H2SO4
H20+SO2+½O2 HI
I2 + SO2 + 2H2O
2HI + H2SO4
2HI H2 + I2 I2
800-1,000oC
NHI’s goal is to develop advanced hydrogen production technology to demonstrate economic, commercial-scale hydrogen production.

10. Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) is focused on fuel cycle research with emphasis on waste management and proliferation-resistance
AFCI’s mission is to develop proliferation-resistant spent nuclear fuel treatment and transmutation technologies to enable transition from the current once-through fuel cycle to a future sustainable, closed nuclear fuel cycle.
Intermediate- and long-term focus on systems
- separations,
- fuels, and
- transmutation
technologies for thermal and fast spectrum systems.
Open
Yucca
Mtn
Once-Through Fuel Cycle
Fast transuranics burners
Self-sustaining closed fuel cycle
Advanced Thermal Reactor Fuel Cycle
High-Level Waste
Proliferation-resistant recycling of Plutonium (+Neptunium/Americium?) in thermal reactors
Actinide Recycle
Recommendation on 2nd repository
Ultra-high-burnup fuel
AFCI
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050

11. Generation IV Initiative to meet future needs
Generation IV’s mission is to develop and demonstrate for commercial deployment advanced nuclear energy systems. Gen IV systems will meet future needs for:
- Reactor safety and reliability
- Proliferation resistance and physical protection
- Economic competitiveness
In January 2000, the U.S. effort grew into an international collaboration now led by the Generation IV International Forum

12. Yucca Mountain Repository Planning
“The repository program is necessary to protect public safety, health, and the Nation’s security because successful completion of this project would isolate in a geologic repository at a remote location highly radioactive materials now scattered throughout the nation”
George W. Bush, Letter to Congress, February 15, 2002
1957
NAS supported deep geologic disposal
1982
Congress passed Nuclear Waste Policy Act
1987
Congress limited Characterization to Yucca Mountain, located in Nevada
1992
Energy Policy Act set EPA standard process
2002
President recommended and Congress approved Yucca Mountain
2004*
Submit License Application to NRC
2010*
Begin receipt of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste
* Current Schedule

13. Energy for the 21st Century
U.S. Energy – ‘By the Numbers’
(Quads = 1 x 1015 BTUs)
175 quads Projected 2020 Demand
Minus 48 quads Conservation Results
127 quads Demand in 2020
Minus 98 quads Today’s Supply
29 quads Difference (new power plants needed by 2020)
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham