The status of nuclear power in the United States is finally changing. As of last month, there were 18 proposals under review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for 28 new units in 14 states. This renewed interest in building nuclear power plants can be attributed in large part to the federal government’s commitment to nuclear power. It is expected that the renewed interest and ensuing construction of nuclear power plants will have a ripple effect of increased demand for support services and industries.
This is a dramatic change. Nuclear reactors generated only 20 percent of the electricity used in the United States in 2009—about the same percentage they generated in 1996, when the last commercial nuclear reactor came online in the country. However, during this same period nuclear power acquired a greater importance in other countries. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, there are 17 countries that obtain a higher percentage of their energy from nuclear power than the United States does, including France (75%), Switzerland (39%), Sweden (37%), Japan (28%), and Germany (26%).
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) projects that the demand for electricity in the country will rise 28 percent by 2035. According to DOE forecasts, if the United States wanted simply to maintain the current percentage of electricity generated by nuclear power, it would need to build one reactor each year, starting in 2016. However, to reduce reliance on energy sources that emit the highest percentages of carbon dioxide, a practical option at this point is to build more nuclear power reactors. Nuclear power emits only 17 tons of carbon dioxide per gigawatt hour, compared with 1,041 tons for coal and 622 tons for natural gas.
The technology has been improving through the years. According to the World Nuclear Association, more than a dozen “third-generation” reactor designs are being developed in countries around the world. The new power plants now under consideration in the United States—large, low-carbon facilities—are expected to cost $6 billion to $9 billion each.
That’s a huge investment, but the federal government is committed to helping finance new power plants. For example, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 allocated $18.5 billion in loan guarantees. Also, because the high construction costs of some earlier plants stemmed from delays caused by regulations, the government has pledged to cover all or half of any cost overruns due to regulatory delays. Recently, the DOE has proposed $36 billion in new loan guarantees.
How soon will the United States move from planning projects to producing power? According to the NRC, it can take 30 months to review a combined license application for a power plant and an additional 12 months to complete hearings. After a license has been issued, construction and verification of the power plant can take another four to five years. So, from submitting an application to generating electricity, the timeline runs about seven to eight years.
However, in addition to the new reactors now under consideration by the NRC, there is one unit currently under construction—but it was approved 37 years ago. The Tennessee Valley Authority received construction permits in 1973 for two units. Unit 1 was built and went into operation in 1996, and was the last reactor to be licensed in the United States. Construction of Unit 2 was suspended in 1985 and then resumed in 2008.
When will Unit 2 go online? The NRC has extended the construction permit completion date to March 31, 2013, 40 years after the license was issued. It is expected that the timeline for the new reactors will be much shorter.
The benefits of such construction will go far beyond the energy industry. For example, companies that are reeling from the drops in infrastructure construction, automobile production, etc.—from steel manufacturers to environmental engineering firms, from flooring companies to widget makers, from automobile component suppliers to a host of other vendors—could well reposition themselves to be suppliers to the burgeoning nuclear power industry.
To take advantage of this boon, component and service suppliers must understand the unique requirements of ASME NQA-1, 10CFR50 Appendix B, and ANSI N45.2 to be able to supply to this growing industry.
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