2006 G-8 Summit in Russia. Leaders from Italy, Germany, Great Britain, France, Russia, United States, Japan and Canada met to discuss worldwide topics and policy and economics. (White House Photo by Paul Morse)
The Department of Energy’s new initiative, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), falls under the umbrella of the president’s Advanced Energy Initiative. It is a plan to advance peaceful uses of nuclear power through improved international collaboration.
GNEP is an evolving U.S. global nuclear strategy aimed at reducing global dependence on fossil fuels; providing reliable, abundant energy necessary for economic growth, prosperity and health; utilizing international expertise to advance technologies and safeguards; and reducing the risk of nuclear proliferation.
The Problem
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that the world’s electricity consumption will double in the next 25 years. Worldwide, current production is near 15,000 billion Kilowatt-hours per year. In 2030, projections reach more than 30,000 billion KWhrs/yr, which will require a rigorous 2 percent increase in electricity generating capacity each year between now and then.
The Solution
Reliable Fuel Services
As the demand for energy swells, GNEP invites developing nations to build small nuclear power plants. More-developed nations would help provide fuel from established advanced facilities capable of recycling, reprocessing and enriching new fuels. This method would close the fuel cycle, reduce proliferation risks and make robust power generation a reality for all partner nations.
The IAEA in Vienna, Austria, could play a vital role in the administration and regulation of the proposed GNEP movement. (IAEA Photo by Dean Calma)
Improved Technologies
This long-term strategy will require scientific development to produce these new technologies. U.S. national laboratories and their associated universities have already begun exploring these venues to make the world a cleaner and safer place by providing:
- New ways to recycle nuclear fuel; recycling turns nuclear waste into fuel for electricity
- New ways to fabricate nuclear fuel elements
- New reactor technologies based on international experience
- New technologies to produce hydrogen and develop new transportation fuels
- Advanced nuclear safeguards to increase the safety and security of nuclear energy worldwide and prevent the misuse of nuclear material
Recycling Fuel: A More Efficient Way
U.S. nuclear fuel recycling research has been ongoing since the early 1960s. Commercial operations ended in 1977 due to a change in U.S. government policy because the technology at the time separated plutonium. Many other nations currently recycle their used nuclear fuel in this fashion. Recycling nuclear fuels for reuse reduces the mass of unusable fuel by a factor of 20; only 5 percent of used fuel is unusable.
A mature method of recycling is chemical separation of used fuel - dissolving used nuclear fuel in liquid, then removing high-energy elements for reuse; it can be adjusted for different types of fuels and combinations of liquids. The greatest advantages of new U.S. approaches to recycling used fuel are:
Nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities exist in many countries outside the U.S. like this Cogema reprocessing plant in France. (Parent company is AREVA) (COGEMA Photo by Dean Calma)
- Sparing high-energy radioactive materials from storage by reusing and consuming them
- Reducing the long-term hazard from residual waste
- Avoiding separation of plutonium and making the design and materials unattractive for weapons purposes
Recycling Regulation
As a GNEP partner nation, the United States will work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world’s central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the nuclear field. Together, the GNEP partner nations could establish a system whereby nations without nuclear capability purchase fuel from provider nations under multinational control, with the IAEA guaranteeing access to energy supplies. This would limit the number of countries that would enrich uranium, a process that could be used to produce weapons material.
By embracing GNEP, modern safeguards and nuclear materials management concepts can be incorporated into future nuclear fuel cycles from the very beginning of the process, resulting in an effective and cost-efficient system.
Gnep will have a dual framework, with each step building on previous, shared successes and providing benefits to both the U.S. and international partners. It addresses immediate needs for new poweer plants, technologies, and facilities as well as longterm, golobal needs for abundant, clean energy and strong nuclear safeguards
The Outlook
Energy In Motion
The U.S. government supports development of all our energy sources, including cleaner fossil fuels, renewable energy, energy efficiency and nuclear energy. Nuclear power makes a unique contribution to the mix of energy sources because it is the largest source of clean-air energy. Nuclear power plants produce neither sulfur, particulates nor greenhouse gases. They help to preserve the Earth’s climate, avoid ozone depletion, prevent acid rain, and combat global warming and climate change. All of these are important benefits as environmental and energy policies become more closely linked. And, while conservation and renewable resources contribute to supply, they cannot provide the reliable base power needed to maintain a complex national electricity grid.
50 Years of Experience; A Solid Foundation
As one of the world’s leading nations in nuclear energy, the United States seeks cooperative international relationships to combat the growing demand for energy and provide efficient, reliable power for all. This aggressive Department of Energy proposal will aid in U.S. management of its own used nuclear fuel and in finishing the repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The GNEP-proposed recycling processes will ensure the need for only one geological repository in the U.S. this century. Globally, there are already 442 nuclear power plants in operation. The U.S. has 103 nuclear reactors in 31 states that currently generate 20 percent of the nation’s electrical power. Eleven other countries currently have 27 new nuclear power plants under construction, and between now and 2015, new nuclear plants will be coming online in the U.S., too. GNEP discussions with other nuclear-capable nations are already under way and will pit private industry, governments and universities against the looming demand for power generation. With more than 50 years of scientific expertise and research and development, the U.S. has established a sound framework to guide nuclear power expansion for years to come.
Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been a leader in new reactor designs and fuel reprocessing and fabrication for more than 50 years. Having built more than 52 reactors within its research and development complex, INL has the technical expertise that will be instrumental to the realization of GNEP.
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