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Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

The conflict of interest policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi) prohibits the appointment of an individual to a committee authoring a Consensus Study Report if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the task to be performed. An exception to this prohibition is permitted if the National Academies determine that the conflict is unavoidable and the conflict is publicly disclosed. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual’s actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.

Heather Feldman has a conflict of interest in relation to her service on the Committee on Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States because she is currently employed as the director of nuclear innovation at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), which receives pooled funding from many utilities and vendor organizations, as well as small contributions from government agencies. EPRI is on multiple proposals for the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. Some of the topics within Dr. Feldman’s portfolio are in close alignment with this study’s statement of task. The National Academies have concluded that in order for the committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established, it must include a committee member with experience in electric power research. Dr. Feldman’s career at EPRI speaks to her deep knowledge of the intersection of electricity and nuclear engineering. Having spent many years working on issues related to balance of plant, corrosion resistance, and non-destructive evaluation, she is an expert in operational issues that face the current fleet of nuclear power plants. In her current position, she is working with the existing fleet to modernize, adjust power output, and adapt operations to a rapidly changing electric grid. Her expertise in fleet modernization will be critical to inform the necessary attributes of future reactor systems, which is a key component of the study’s task. The National Academies have determined that the experience and expertise of Dr. Feldman is needed for the committee to accomplish the task for which it has been established. The National Academies could not find another available individual with the equivalent expertise and breadth of experience who does not have a conflict of interest. Therefore, the National Academies have concluded that the conflict is unavoidable. The National Academies believe that Dr. Feldman can serve effectively as a member of the committee, and the committee can produce an objective report, taking into account the composition of the committee, the work to be performed, and the procedures to be followed in completing the study.

David Owens has a conflict of interest in relation to his service on the Committee on Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States because he currently serves as the director of the board of Xcel Energy, a major shareholder-owned utility that runs several nuclear power plants and has stake in