United States of America — Keynote Address

S. Jaworowski

Chief of Staff, Senior Advisor

Office of Nuclear Energy, United States Department of Energy Washington, D.C., United States of America

Thank you.

I am pleased to be here to talk about the important role that nuclear energy can play in a clean energy future and what the USA is doing to help advance nuclear energy technologies to best enable this future.

As you know, nuclear energy is the best source of reliable, baseload clean energy. In the USA, nuclear power accounts for 55 per cent of our clean energy. It protects our air quality by generating electricity without harmful pollutants like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, particulate matter or mercury.

Beyond these benefits, nuclear power is the most reliable and most efficient source of electricity, operating around the clock at a more than 90 per cent average capacity factor. That is more than two times the capacity factor of intermittent clean sources. In fact, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, during our 2019 polar vortex, U.S. nuclear power plants operated at 99.7 per cent capacity.

In addition, nuclear power has created powerful local economic benefits in the USA. An HIS Markit Report reveals that with nuclear in the energy mix, the USA’s current diverse electricity portfolio lowers the average retail price of electricity by 27 per cent and reduces the variability of monthly consumer electricity bills by around 22 per cent. This study also found that losing this generation diversity would cause a decline in U.S. gross domestic product by $158 billion;

a loss of one million jobs; and $845 less in disposable income annually per household.

Finally, nuclear is powerful. Just one uranium fuel pellet creates as much energy as one ton of coal, 149 gallons of oil or 17 000 cubic feet of natural gas. A single nuclear power reactor generates enough electricity on average to power 755 000 homes without emitting any greenhouse gases. That is more than enough to power a city the size of Philadelphia.

ADMINISTRATION SUPPORT FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY

The Trump Administration is ‘All-In’ on nuclear energy. Early in his term, President Trump ordered a review of U.S. nuclear energy policy to “help us find new ways to revitalize this crucial energy resource”. The Administration’s plans include development of advanced nuclear reactor and fuels technologies that are crucial for the future of the U.S. nuclear power sector.

To carry out our ambitious goals, the Administration nominated Dr. Rita Baranwal as Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at the Department of Energy. Dr. Baranwal, the first woman to lead the Office of Nuclear Energy, is overseeing a broad portfolio to promote advanced nuclear research and development. She has more than 20 years of experience in the nuclear field and is well suited to manage our private–public partnerships to deploy advanced nuclear technologies.

New construction is ongoing in the USA. The Administration is supporting the construction of two new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia.

Westinghouse AP1000 technology is the most advanced, high powered light water reactor system licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

In addition, DOE is supporting the siting of the nation’s first small modular reactor, designed by NuScale Power, with a goal of operation at the Idaho National Laboratory by 2026. Since 2013, under a private–public partnership, DOE has supported the design and licensing of the NuScale Power SMR, which recently cleared phases 2 and 3 of the regulator’s design certification process.

Beyond SMRs, DOE is working with the Department of Defense to demonstrate and deploy microreactors potentially as early as 2023. These smaller, transportable reactors could provide clean energy to remote communities, for microgrid applications, and for emergency services.

Some of the microreactors in development are under two megawatts in size — small enough to replace diesel generators in remote locations with emissions-free power at a fraction of the cost.

To help with long term operation of the existing fleet of nuclear power plants, the Department’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program is conducting research to develop to improve the economics and reliability, sustain the safety, and extend the operation of the current fleet.

Through the Department’s Accident Tolerant Fuels program, industry is developing new fuels that are intended to directly and substantially further enhance fuel reliability and safety, leading to improved economics for nuclear reactor operations.

We have several initiatives to support the development and commercialization of next generation reactor technologies.

We recently established the National Reactor Innovation Center to speed up the licensing and commercialization of advanced reactors. Led by INL, the NRIC provides a platform for companies to assess the performance of their reactor concepts through testing and demonstration.

The NRIC builds on the success of our GAIN initiative that was created to build private-public partnerships that can leverage the expertise and facilities at our national laboratories to help bring innovative nuclear concepts to reality.

We are proceeding with plans to build a Versatile Test Reactor that would use high energy neutrons to speed up the testing of advanced fuels and materials needed by both new reactor designs and our existing fleet.

We have already restarted the Transient Reactor Test Facility at Idaho National Laboratory to better examine fuel performance under simulated accident conditions. The facility is preparing to test the accident tolerant fuels that will increase performance in today’s reactors.

Also in the fuels area, DOE is developing pathways to provide small amounts of high assay, low enriched uranium, or HALEU, to U.S. industry for testing of their advanced reactor designs.

HALEU allows for smaller plant sizes, longer core life, and a higher burnup of nuclear fuel.

We are also working toward long-term solutions by demonstrating the ability to enrich uranium to HALEU levels using advanced centrifuge machines.

NUCLEAR REIMAGINED

Besides lower costs and greater efficiencies, the new advanced reactors being developed in the USA have broader benefits that will provide a range of options to solve non-electric challenges.

Many of the advanced reactor designs produce process heat and steam that can be used in homes and public buildings; they could even support other industries like agriculture or food processing.

In transportation, SMRs could provide power to charge electric vehicles or power a rail line.

During off-peak hours, such an SMR could put its excess capacity toward hydrogen generation.

Finally, DOE is developing advanced integrated energy systems, with SMRs providing flexibility to ramp production up and down in cooperation with renewable generation.

NUCLEAR INNOVATION CLEAN ENERGY (NICE) VISION

Working internationally, the USA is a lead country, together with Canada and Japan, of the Nuclear Innovation Clean Energy (NICE) Future initiative that was launched in May 2018 under the Clean Energy Ministerial initiative. We are joined by six other countries and 14 partner organizations.

The initiative recognizes that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to energy production. It fosters collaboration among clean energy supporters to explore diverse solutions, including nuclear energy as an option, for the development of clean, integrated, and reliable energy systems.

The innovations that the NICE Future initiative is working on include: integrated nuclear renewables systems, desalination for drinking water, process heat, flexible electricity grids, hydrogen production and energy storage, advanced smart designs, and nuclear waste reduction.

Also under the Clean Energy Ministerial, the USA is participating in the C3E Technology Collaboration Program, which aims to advance women’s participation in the clean energy field.

In this program, members are sharing experiences on domestic efforts that aim to strengthen recruitment, retention, and advancement of qualified women in clean energy. Members agree that bringing this greater gender diversity into the clean energy sector can bring in more diverse views that can help foster innovation and technology advancement.

INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY COOPERATION (IFNEC) This November, Secretary Perry is hosting several IFNEC week events in Washington in support of IFNEC’s goal: exploring mutually beneficial approaches to ensure the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes proceeds in a manner that is efficient and meets the highest standards of safety, security and non-proliferation.

There will be a Reliable Nuclear Fuel Services Working Group meeting, a Steering Group and Executive committee meeting, and a global ministerial conference on ‘Bringing the World SMRs and Advanced Nuclear’. Conference panels will include near-term deployment opportunities, forward thinking financing options, and revolutionizing the regulatory environment.

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY OUTREACH

Finally, one of our biggest global challenges to the greater use of nuclear energy is public opinion. That is why DOE is meeting with individuals and stakeholders around the USA to hold conversations about important nuclear energy issues.

Late last year, we started an activity we call the Millennial Nuclear Caucuses. The activity was kicked off by Energy Secretary Rick Perry and young people representing multiple nuclear energy organizations. Now, we travel the country and internationally to talk nuclear. In fact, we are working with the IAEA, the International Youth Nuclear Congress and the United Nations Nuclear Young Generation organization to hold a Millennial Nuclear Caucus here on Tuesday evening and we hope you can attend.

To engage an even younger generation about nuclear technologies, DOE is supporting a collaboration between the American Nuclear Society and Discovery Education to develop a nuclear science curriculum for students of all ages. The curricula will include lesson plans, career profiles, and a virtual field trip to a nuclear power plant.

We are also reaching out to Congressional leadership and staff with learning lunches where experts present and answer questions from the audience.

Lastly, we are developing videos and infographics to provide more information about the Department’s nuclear energy activities on our website.

CLOSING

I would like to close by saying that exciting innovations are just around the corner for nuclear, and even more in the not so distant future. Together, with renewed vision and action, we can enable a brighter future. We can and must take advantage of emissions-free nuclear in new and innovative ways to accelerate progress toward a thriving, cleaner world.

Thank you for inviting me to speak.