nuclear-news

Another blow to the Small Modular nuclear reactor (SMR) pipe-dream

“I think they were trying to use cleanup funds, which weren’t intended to be used for nuclear energy projects,” said Tom Clements, the non-proliferation policy director for the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability.

“The whole SMR thing has always appeared very premature and rather half-baked; since these reactors don’t even exist the companies don’t have money to pursue them,” “So it’s all very highly speculative.”

SRS suspends portable reactor development, The Augusta Chronicle, By Rob Pavey, Nov. 10, 2012 Savannah River Site can no longer use its increasingly limited environmental management resources to pursue the development of small, portable nuclear power reactors.

The ambition to create a “small, modular reactor” farm, where a new generation of SMRs
could be perfected for the commercial market, is a key facet of Enterprise SRS, a futuristic strategy designed to create jobs and future missions for the 310-square-mile site.

Although the U.S. Department of Energy announced agreements in March with three firms that are hoping to use SRS as a home base to study and develop mini reactor technology, site contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions received a directive from headquarters to “stand down” and devote no further funds or resources to the effort.

The order, first reported by the Weapons Complex Monitor in
Washington, D.C., could delay but would not necessarily kill the
initiative, which was to evolve gradually over the next decade, said
Rick McLeod, the executive director of the SRS Community Reuse
Organization, an economic development consortium.
“If the site cannot move forward with it right now, the communities
may have to take more of the workload,” he said, noting that the SMR
concept is one of the primary proposals under study for the site’s
economic future.
Site officials have not divulged the extent of resources devoted to
the SMR project, but its concept relies mainly on future funding from
private investors with support such as government land and help from
the site’s well-equipped Savannah River National
Laboratory.
Eight locations within Savannah River Site have been identified as
venues for the development of small, portable nuclear reactors that
would become commercially available in 10 to 20 years……
By offering the national lab’s array of technical assistance and a
secure site in which to develop the projects, DOE hopes to stimulate
investor interest that will help the private companies finance their
projects…..
“I think they were trying to use cleanup funds, which weren’t intended to be used for nuclear energy projects,” said Tom Clements, the non-proliferation policy director for the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability.
“The question is going to be, if they can get around it and legally
use cleanup funds, or if they can get the (Energy Department’s) Office
of Nuclear Energy to fund the program.”
At the very least, forcing the site to use its environmental
management resources for its designated cleanup projects will delay
further exploration of SMR research.
“The whole SMR thing has always appeared very premature and rather half-baked; since these reactors don’t even exist the companies don’t have money to pursue them,” he said. “So it’s all very highly speculative.”
The Energy Department, he added, seems to be doing a good job in
making sure limited resources are spent on priority cleanup programs.
“With the scarcity of cleanup funding, someone has to make sure it’s
being spent properly,” he said.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2012-11-10/srs-suspends-portable-reactor-development?mmo_ccc=xfinity

November 22, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, technology, USA