Historical Program Activities For the Deployment of Nuclear Power

The technology focus of NP2010 has been on Generation III+ advanced light water reactor designs offering advancements in safety and economics over the Generation III designs certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the 1990s. To enable the deployment of new Generation III+ nuclear power plants in the United States in the relatively near-term, the program has focused on first-of-a-kind Generation III+ reactor technology development and the demonstration of untested Federal regulatory and licensing processes for the siting, construction and operation of new nuclear plants. The Department executed competitive procurement processes to identify motivated partners and has been conducting program activities in cost-share cooperation with industry. The Department initiated cooperative projects with industry to:

• Obtain NRC approval of three sites to assure the availability of these potential locations for new nuclear power plants under the Early Site Permit (ESP) process
• Develop application preparation guidance for the combined Construction and Operating License (COL) and resolve generic COL regulatory issues (The COL process is a "one-step" licensing process by which nuclear plant public health and safety concerns are resolved before construction begins and before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approves and issues a license to build and operate a new nuclear power plant.)
• Demonstrate the process for submittal and regulatory review of COL applications.

The following is a description of the major projects within the NP2010 program. Information on other studies and analyses that were funded by the program can be found under the publications program link above.

Site Scoping Studies

In August 2001, DOE issued a solicitation inviting nuclear utilities, generating companies or consortia to conduct scoping studies of potential sites for deployment of new nuclear power plants in the United States in response to a recommendation from the Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee’s (NERAC) Near-Term Deployment Working Group. Sites of interest included existing nuclear plant locations, “green-field” sites, and federal facilities. The intent of this study, Phase I of a two-part project, was to determine the activities, schedule, and resource requirements for demonstration of the 10 CFR Part 52 ESP licensing process at a preferred site, including site engineering and environmental studies, preparation of the application, and NRC review. Dominion Energy and Exelon Generation Company received competitively selected awards under this solicitation. Two additional studies fall under this workscope: the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) analysis of their Bellefonte site and a chemical industry group’s study of the Texas coast’s suitability for nuclear power. Each of these studies is described below.

Early Site Permit (ESP) Projects

In March 2002, the Department issued a solicitation inviting U.S. nuclear utilities and generating companies to demonstrate the Early Site Permit (ESP) process. The ESP process was established by the NRC to enable completion of the site evaluation component of nuclear power plant licensing before a utility makes a decision to build a plant. Dominion Energy, Inc., System Energy Resources Inc. (Entergy subsidiary) and Exelon Corporation were competitively selected by the Department in 2002 to conduct the three projects described below. The scope of these projects included preparation and submittal of an ESP application to the NRC by each company for one of their current commercial sites and supporting NRC review to obtain the ESP. The projects were conducted on a cost-shared basis with the power companies providing a minimum of 50% of the total cost of their respective projects. All three companies submitted ESP applications and successfully obtained permits from the NRC.

Dominion Nuclear was issued an ESP by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on November 27, 2007 for the North Anna Site in Virginia. Information on the permits and associated reports can be found at the NRC website by clicking here.	North Anna Nuclear Power Plant
System Energy Resources Inc. was issued an ESP by the NRC on April 5, 2007 for the Grand Gulf Site in Mississippi. Information on the permits and associated reports can be found at the NRC website by clicking here.	Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant
Exelon Generation Company was issued an ESP by the NRC on March 15, 2007 for the Clinton Site in Illinois. Information on the permits and associated reports can be found at the NRC website by clicking here.	Clinton Power Station

New Nuclear Plant Licensing Demonstration Projects

In November 2003, the Department issued a solicitation inviting proposals from teams led by power generation companies to initiate New Nuclear Plant Licensing Demonstration Projects to pilot the Construction and Operating License (COL) application and review process. As a result, the Department initiated projects with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Dominion Energy and NuStart Energy Development, LLC. The concept involved initiating a COL for a new, standardized reactor technology at a specific reference site, thereby simplifying the licensing process for subsequent applicants intending to reference the same technology at their approved sites.

The TVA project was a cost and schedule study for construction of twin Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) units with support of a technology delivery team (Toshiba, GE, and USEC). The study was completed in August 2005, but did not lead to the development of a COLA for the ABWR.

The Dominion and NuStart COL projects varied in scope and depth, and were conducted on a cost-shared basis with industry providing a minimum of 50% of the total cost. The Dominion COL was developed for the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) technology with North Anna as the reference site, and the NuStart COL is being developed for the AP1000 technology and now references the Southern Company’s Vogtle site.

The original scope of the licensing demonstration projects included both the COL regulatory process and completion and certification of the associated reactor designs. In March 2007, DOE restructured the Dominion and NuStart cooperative agreements, creating separate agreements with Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) and General Electric-Hitachi (GEH) to provide improved visibility of the reactor vendor activities. The reactor vendor workscope included design certification activities for the Westinghouse AP1000 and the GEH ESBWR standard plant designs, along with completion of first-of-a-kind engineering for these new reactors. As of the end of FY2010, the GE ESBWR application for certification had completed nearly all required interactions with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). A formal letter from the ACRS to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission endorsing the safety and robustness of the design was to follow less than one month later, with certification expected by September of 2011. The AP1000 application was similarly positioned with a December, 2010 letter of endorsement from the ACRS contingent upon the results of ongoing ACRS reviews of aircraft impact assessment and long-term core cooling issues as well as other pending commitments from the vendor. The AP1000 certification is also expected by September of 2011.

Current information on the design certification status can be found on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors.html.

NuStart Energy Construction and Operating License Demonstration Project

NuStart Energy's COL Demonstration Project included advancing Westinghouse's AP-1000 advanced nuclear reactor design from certification to COL Engineering and final design, preparation of combined COL applications of the AP-1000 at Southern’s Vogtle site, and support for NRC review of the related COL application. NuStart made the decision to switch the reference COL location from the TVA Bellefonte site in April 2009 when it was determined that the Vogtle COLA review was proceeding at a quicker pace than the Bellefonte COLA. As of the end of FY2010, the Vogtle COL application had an estimated Final SER date of June, 2011. COL issuance is expected by the end of 2011.

NuStart Energy Development, LLC, is a limited liability company formed in 2004. The member companies are DTE Energy, Duke Energy, EDF International North America, Entergy Nuclear, Exelon Corporation, Florida Power and Light, Progress Energy, SCANA Corporation, Southern Company and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) along with the two reactor vendors of General Electric-Hitachi and Westinghouse Electric Company. These companies have formed a design-centered working group for the AP1000 that is aimed at improving the deployment schedule for AP1000 licensing activities following the reference COL.

Report on Lessons Learned from the NP 2010 Early Site Permit Program

This document summarizes the lessons learned and experiences of DOE’s cost-share participants during the regulatory process of applying for—and being granted—Early Site Permits.

Appendices to the summary report include individual lessons learned reports prepared by Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC; Entergy Nuclear, Inc.; and Exelon Generation Company, LLC.

Click here to view the Report on Lessons Learned from the NP 2010 Early Site Permit Program.

Generic COL Activities Project

A cooperative agreement was established in January 2004 with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to develop generic guidance for preparing a COL application and to resolve anticipated generic COL regulatory issues. The project was conducted in cooperation with industry on a minimum of 50/50 cost-share basis, with cash and in-kind contributions from utilities, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), EPRI and other industry organizations.

The scope of this project was to identify and work cooperatively with NRC to resolve generic technical and regulatory issues associated with the Part 52 COL process, clearly define the form and content of a COL application, establish successful processes for preparation and NRC review of COL applications and associated hearings, establish effective and efficient processes for verifying Inspection, Tests, Analyses and Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC) and address other generic issues identified.