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features of advanced reactors. After the shutdown of the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) in 1994, the United States has not operated a fast neutron reactor for over 20 years.

Funding for nuclear innovation

The DOE is committing funding to accelerate nuclear innovation and the development of advanced reactors. Between April 2018 and March 2019, approximately USD 117 million was granted to support cost-shared projects covering technology development, concept design and preparation of regulatory reviews.

Training nuclear scientists and engineers

Together with the supporting industry, the nuclear supply chain and the associated workforce, the administration is making special efforts to foster scientific skills in the nuclear research and energy sectors. In March 2019, the DOE announced more than USD 5 million in undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships at US colleges and universities.

While the United States has clearly taken an active role in promoting advanced reactor technology development and capacity building, other countries (Canada, the United Kingdom) are also promoting the development and deployment of SMRs. International initiatives, such as the Generation IV International Forum (of which the Unites States is a member), are promoting joint R&D activities, the sharing of research infrastructure and, perhaps more importantly, collaborative work with regulators to develop safety standards for advanced reactors. Having a consensus-based safety approach that meets regulatory requirements from various countries is a key success factor for the deployment of advanced reactors in global markets.

Assessment

Nuclear energy represents 20% of US electricity production, the largest source of lowcarbon electricity, with hydro and other renewables combined representing nearly 18%. The share of nuclear power has remained stable over the last ten years, but is likely to decrease with early retirements of NPPs, in a context of flat electricity demand and increasingly competitive market conditions, brought on by low natural gas prices and subsidised renewables.

The US nuclear fleet, the largest in the world, consists of 98 LWR units. The NRC, the regulator, has granted licence renewals to 90 units allowing them to operate for a total of 60 years. It has not identified any technical showstoppers. The NRC also established in early 2018 an SLR guidance for operation beyond 60 years (up to 80 years), and received the first three applications in 2018 for six units.

Notwithstanding the clear regulatory framework for long-term operation, some NPPs are being retired before the end of their licences, often for economic reasons. In spite of being fully depreciated a while ago and low uranium prices, the operating costs of some of the plants – especially merchant ones – cannot be covered by the revenues generated from the sale of electricity in wholesale markets, where natural gas-fired generation usually sets the marginal price for electricity. Between 2013 and 2018, a total of seven units were retired, representing 5.3 GW. A further 11 units are expected to be retired by

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2025, representing an additional 11 GW. Increasing shares of zero-marginal-cost renewable power can also displace conventional generation, decreasing the amount of baseload generation and affecting its economics.

The administration is concerned that the premature closure of NPPs (as well as of coalfired power plants) can pose significant resilience issues for the electric grid, as the power mix becomes dominated by natural gas and renewables. Extreme cold spells have stretched gas supply that is required for heating and industry, as well as for electricity generation. Large nuclear plants, which have on-site fuel reserves, can provide ancillary services, such as frequency control, spinning and operating reserves, and their gradual removal from the electricity system can pose reliability risks. While the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) does not see any immediate risks, it notes that measures will need to be taken to address reliability. FERC is currently assessing how to value resilience in the marketplace. Compensating the contribution of nuclear power to grid resilience can help the economics of the fleet but also requires the development of robust and transparent criteria that can stand legal challenges. It should also be recognised that the power system is evolving, and technology developments correlated with renewable electricity penetration may provide future solutions to today’s resilience issues. Advanced reactors with various modes of flexible operation (load-follow or switching between electricity and heat production) may offer ways to better integrate renewables and nuclear systems into future low-carbon grids.

While the federal government is contemplating action with respect to security and resilience issues, some states are putting in place measures that are helping nuclear generators stay in the market, essentially by recognising their contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Clean energy standards, zero carbon procurement and ZEC programmes are some of the measures taken by states such as New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. Twelve units representing over 11 GW of generating capacity, which would likely have been retired for economic reasons, could thus be saved from premature closures stemming from current unfavourable market conditions.

Construction of new nuclear capacity in the United States has been limited over the last three decades. The few initiatives for new plants have experienced delays and cost overruns, due in large part to problems with the industrial supply chain and loss of experience in managing nuclear construction projects. In March 2017, Westinghouse Electric, the designer of the Generation III+ AP1000 reactor, filed for bankruptcy. The construction of two AP1000 units at the V.C. Summer plant in South Carolina was abandoned in July 2017, and only the Vogtle project (two AP1000s) remains today. The Vogtle project benefited from DOE loan guarantees and will also benefit from federal production tax credits of USD 18/MWh. Such tax credits are available for future projects, in an effort to encourage new builds, in particular the construction of SMRs. Maintaining a viable industrial nuclear supply chain until significant domestic construction projects happen will be challenging, unless the United States manages to develop projects abroad in a very competitive international market.

The DOE is also actively pursuing the development of advanced reactor technologies, including SMRs, micro-reactors and Generation IV reactors, promoting innovation, supporting licensing efforts together with the NRC, funding university programmes and building new R&D infrastructure. Continued collaboration with international partners can further contribute to the ambition of developing the next generation of nuclear

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technologies with higher levels of standardisation, and with common safety approaches that can facilitate licensing at the global level.

Even if nuclear energy benefits from strong bipartisan support, there remains an area where little progress has been made: the management of the country’s high-level waste. The inability of successive administrations to collect the country’s used fuel in a repository has created a liability for the American taxpayer, which has to pay about USD 800 million per year to compensate utilities for the costs of on-site extended storage. Resuming licensing work for the Yucca Mountain repository site, as well as developing a centralised interim storage solution, are necessary conditions for the long-term sustainability of the nuclear industry.

Recommendations

The US government should:

Assess in a robust and transparent way the contribution of NPPs to the resilience of the current electricity system, and value their contribution to low-carbon electricity generation.

For the longer term, investigate the integration of advanced nuclear systems and variable renewable generation in future low-carbon energy systems, and continue to work internationally to promote standardisation and harmonised safety requirements.

Work with Congress to move ahead with the development of a long-term repository at Yucca Mountain for the country’s used fuel, as well as centralised interim storage facilities to reduce the burden on utilities.

References

DOE (Department of Energy) Office of Nuclear Energy (2019), Office of Nuclear Energy (portal), www.energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energy.

DOE (2018), Audit Report DOE-OIG-18-34, www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/06/f52/DOE-OIG-18-34.pdf.

IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) (2019), Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) [database], https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/home.aspx.

IEA (International Energy Agency) (2019), World Energy Balances 2019 [database], IEA, Paris, www.iea.org/statistics/.

NEI (Nuclear Energy Institute) (2019a), Nuclear by the Numbers, www.nei.org/CorporateSite/media/filefolder/resources/fact-sheets/nuclear-by-the- numbers.pdf.

NEI (2019b), Used Nuclear Fuel, www.nei.org/advocacy/make-regulations-smarter/used- nuclear-fuel.

Reinhart, R.J. (2019), 40 Years After Three Mile Island, Americans Split on Nuclear Power, Gallup, https://news.gallup.com/poll/248048/years-three-mile-island-americans-split- nuclear-power.aspx.

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